A Chocolate Factory?
by Squirrela
Summary: Follow Charlie as he realises his dream to find one of the Golden Tickets, and see what his opinions are as the story unfolds off into the future. Wilder Wonka.
1. How it all began - Introduction

The following is mostly based upon the Gene Wilder version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (AKA Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory), with a few elements of the book scattered through. In the Wilder film Charlie is American (well, Peter Ostrum and many of the actors playing the other main characters are...) so I've always imagined that the story was based in a random American town. Being British I may well mix up some of the terminology, but I'm going to do my best to have him using the American versions of various words. Please forgive me for any mistakes made...

A note on money... I've chosen to set this in the 1970's, as that is when the film was produced, so the things we see will usually be as close as I can get to things which did exist then. A bit of exploration suggests that chocolate in America at that time cost between 10 and 20 cents. As far as wages are concerned... the minimum hourly rate in 1970 was apparently 1.60. This was for 'graduates' though, and Charlie is no more than 12 at the time he's doing this paper round. I've guessed that he spent half hour every day delivering the papers (Mon-Sat), so I'm therefore going to suggest that as a child Charlie earns half a dollar each day he works, or 30 cents less than a graduate would earn for the same amount of time (a very generous boss).

I'm not altogether sure whether edible things in bedrooms was something I thought up on my own before reading others thoughts on the matter or not. It could be either. Regardless of whether that came from my own head, or some of the other wonderful stories I've read on the subject, it does seem Very Wonka-esque!

This is a multi-chapter fic, with the first three chapters focusing on the events which took place during the film, and suggesting what Charlie might have been thinking and feeling as they took place. They are primarily concerned with character development so that we can know him a little better when the time comes for them to move into the factory.

If you recognise it from elsewhere, I don't own it, and I'm not making any money from it...

With all of that said, on with the story!

* * *

How it all began

Charlie was lying in his new little bed inside Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, supposedly trying to sleep but in reality far too worked up to do so. He could hardly believe he was here. He had had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and even then, the smarting of his arm wasn't penetrating his current feeling of disbelief!

His bedroom was as strange as much of the rest of the factory. Wonka – as Mr Wonka had told him to call him – had said that one couldn't go to bed without some nice sugary sweetness to wake up to, so as in the chocolate room many of the items were edible. Most of the edible items in his room had a mint flavour to them. Even the fountain, which was a thick, clear, water like substance, tasted of minty hot chocolate! That was going to be a favourite 'before bed' drink Charlie could tell!

Charlie was exhausted – he admitted the fact freely to himself – but he currently couldn't sleep, he was too wired for that as yet. The day had been such a rollercoaster of emotions. Strike that, as Wonka might have said, the last few months, ever since the news of the Golden Tickets had broken, had been an emotional rollercoaster. Today had simply compounded the complex mix of feelings he was experiencing!

Charlie could still remember the day he found out about the Great Ticket Hunt. It was the day after his first pay day, the 5th of May 1970. His first pay day was also one he would remember fondly, even if he had felt the usual longing to be able to spend as freely in the candy store as the majority of his classmates seemed to on a daily basis. The best he could manage was to window shop, imagining what sweets he would choose, and how he would spend his money.

Despite this loss, it had been a good day. He had had the joy of feeling the man of the house, providing for his family. He walked home from his paper round, celebratory loaf of bread safely lodged in his bag, clutching the odd change to give to his mother and grandfather. He would never have dreamed of spending any of that money on candy. Much as he often longed for a taste of something sweet, that money was for his family – he knew how much of a difference his wage would make. It might only be one loaf of bread each week, a little towards the rent, and his Grandpa's baccy money, but to be able to do this much made him feel about 6 feet tall.

He had walked home with the bread tucked carefully into his satchel, pondering how to disperse of the remainder of his funds. Mom would have most of it, and the little spare change he would give to Grandpa Joe for tobacco. Charlie relished the ability to pay for this one small luxury for his Grandfather... Except that when he handed over the cash Grandpa Joe had declared that when the family looked upon the loaf of bread Charlie had brought home as a banquet he had no right to spend some of the little money they had on tobacco – however inexpensive it might be. With pressing he'd agreed to take it though, possibly seeing the hope in Charlie's eyes, and how disappointed he'd be if his Grandfather said 'no.'

That was also the day he'd met the tinker at the factory gates on his way home. He'd been staring in through the bars of the tall gates when suddenly someone started speaking behind him. The one thing he said that Charlie remembered by the time he got home was something about no one ever going in or out of the gates. Later on that evening he mentioned this experience to Grandpa Joe. He confirmed that no one had entered the factory in many years, explaining the reasons behind it – the spies who kept on stealing Mr Wonka's recipes. At the time they'd both been highly confused about who could be helping Mr Wonka run the factory. There had to be someone, but there was no sign of anyone who could be doing so. Given the fact that there were lots of Wonka bars on sale, and the factory was obviously running, there was no other option.

Now, some months later, with a better understanding of what was happening in the factory he recalled the man saying something about '_the fear of little men_.' Charlie wondered if this might be a reference to the Oompa Loompa's, and began to ponder who the man might be... Who outside of the factory knew about the Oompa Loompa's? Charlie paused here in his ruminating. He was getting ahead of himself.

The following day in class Mr Turkentine had been teaching them about the new wart remover he'd come up with. Mr Turkentine was a strange man, scolding Charlie for answering a question as if he'd chosen to be _'presumptuous and rude'_ rather than simply answering the question he had been asked. Mr Turkentine was often like that around Charlie, maybe there was something he just didn't like about the boy. He seemed to be forever telling him off when Charlie had done no wrong. It was possible that he struggled with the extreme poverty Charlie's family were facing. No one in the school was rich, but very few of the families had to make the hard sacrifices Charlie's did.

On this occasion, Mr Turkentine had called Charlie up to assist him, and scolded him while he was quietly waiting to be told what to do next. Being used to the strange quirks of the man Charlie had waited for him to finish, and continue on with the lesson. Eventually Mr Turkentine deigned to explain the task - they were to mix three liquids, Nitric Acid, Glycerine, and a special mix Mr Turkentine had come up with. If the resulting mixture didn't explode they would have created the wart remover. Charlie had carefully helped the teacher to mix the three liquids in a large jar. Suddenly the concoction had made a loud 'bang,' sending a rush of smoke over the pair of them.

Just as Charlie was asking the man if they'd done something wrong they heard a loud noise issuing from beyond the door, and the teacher strode over to the door and called in one of the children from the hall. He soon learned that there were some lucky 'golden tickets' for 5 people to find to get a tour of the factory – and a lifetime supply of chocolate as an added bonus. The excitement in this town was even stronger than in most of the world – for Wonka's Chocolate factory was situated inside the town's boundaries, and Charlie's route home took him right past the gates. It was Charlie's favourite part of the journey, and if it hadn't been part of his normal route he would have quite happily diverted past it, but home was so close that he walked along past the gates to get anywhere...

Next thing the class was dismissed and everyone poured out to see if they could locate one of the precious golden tickets. Charlie, not having the money to spend on chocolate, simply returned to his seat, quietly packed up and walked slowly home to join his family in watching the chaos on the TV. Charlie did admit his desire to be one of the lucky winners to his family though. This quickly became his dearest wish. How could it not be, he may never have been inside the gates, but the factory had always been an important part of Charlie's life. So many of his dreams were founded on it – he fanaticised about it regularly, and what it would be like to work there. Real life was hard, but in his world of dreams there was so much pleasure and lots of wonderful things.

Soon the first ticket was found, a few weeks into the competition, on the 30th of May, by a lucky German boy. Charlie and family watched the news report where he was interviewed. Charlie had to look away from the screen when the large boy stuffed his face while answering the questions posed to him. It turned out this behaviour wasn't particularly surprising as the boy's father actually ate the head off of the microphone which was shoved in his face when asked a question. His mother was only slightly better, talking about him loving his food and being a growing boy so he must _need_ _the nourishment_. Charlie felt slightly sick as the three of them consumed enough to support his family for at least a week in that one meal.

Charlie's birthday came the following day. He was so excited to receive two gifts – the first one came from his Mother and two Grandmas', who had personally knitted him a beautiful red scarf to replace the thin ragged one he had worn up until that point. Grandmothers Josephine and Georgina supplemented the small income by knitting things to sell. His Mom was so busy keeping them fed and clean that her own money earning work took place outside the home in the small laundry down the street. It was backbreaking work which often kept her out late into the evening, so she only rarely did any extra knitting.

His two grandpas' gave him his usual yearly gift of a chocolate bar. This year it was extra special as they'd given him the chance of finding one of the gold tickets as their gift was a Wonka Fudge Mallow Delight. The sense of anticipation in the air grew thicker as Grandpa Joe encouraged him to think that there might just be a chance he might find one. After all Grandpa said, he wanted it more than anyone else...

Given the madness and mayhem which surrounded them, Charlie couldn't quite credit that assertation, but he knew it was the easiest way for them to describe the situation... All those privileged kids had so much handed to them on a plate. For them, chocolate was an everyday occurrence, not a treasured birthday gift, hoarded to enjoy the thick sweet flavour for as long as possible. Charlie often managed to make one bar last for a few months, taken one tiny nibble every day.

Grandpa wouldn't be able to stomach saying that he 'deserved' it more than the rest. Charlie couldn't handle thinking it either, there was something too prideful about that kind of statement, but he knew that's what they were getting at. However they phrased it though, he knew that while everyone he knew was wild for a chance to see round the famous factory, treats were hardly uncommon for them, and the experience would soon be swallowed up in other fun things. For Charlie something like this meant the whole world and the visit would be remembered as a bright spot in a grey sky for years on end... He turned away and quickly opened it, shouting out a joyful yell of triumph... Only to turn round and state that he'd fooled them all. It was the only way he knew how to deal with the situation.

As time went on the other tickets began to be found. Charlie kept his private opinions on the various lucky children as they were revealed to himself – the second, Veruca Salt, being a spoilt brat whose parents seemed to make sure that her faintest wish was their command. Her father had put all the workers from his nut shelling factory onto opening boxes of Wonka bars for practically the whole month of June, until a ticket was found for her.

Personally Charlie thought that was cheating – maybe the chocolate bars belonged to her family, but she certainly hadn't 'found' a ticket as she said to the camera – one of the workers in her father's factory had found it! No this little girl had been given her ticket, and given it by someone who would have probably enjoyed the experience, and benefitted from it, far more.

The more he thought about it the more he wondered what on earth they had done with all the extra boxes of chocolate – what if there was another golden ticket in them and it wasn't found because they sat around unopened? Maybe the father simply made the most of it by selling them at a profit? It sounded like something the business tycoon might do! The fact that they hadn't given anyone else in the surrounding area a chance at finding the ticket as they had bought up every single bar of Wonka's chocolate in the area showed exactly how shallow and selfish the family were.

And what did they do with all the chocolate bars they had 'shelled' anyway? While it was possible to see chocolate bar wrappers scattered about the ground almost everywhere you went, it was nothing compared to the carnage the TV cameras showed in the factory. Just before the news screens switched to something else they showed someone start to sweep paper, foil and chocolate into some big bins...

The third ticket was discovered in August, by a gum chewing chatterbox called Violet Beauregarde – did she really keep her chewed gum behind her ear while she ate and on the bedpost over night for chewing on again the following morning? Chewing on the same bit of gum for over 3 months? Yuck! Who wanted to make that kind of a world record? As for her father, the man was obsessed with his business it seemed, trying to turn the interview his daughter was being given into a chance to sell some cars.

The last winner Charlie saw interviewed, during early September, was completely fanatical about TV programmes and guns. He was also incredibly rude while he was at it, he told the interviewer that he was 'Crazy,' said 'no' to turning off the TV, and even said the man should 'shut up' because Mike was 'busy.' No one would have let Charlie away with telling a grown up to wait to receive an answer, especially not just so he could continue to watch a silly TV programme.

Mike Teevee's mother simply told the interviewer that he wouldn't answer until the show was over, and that he'd never been to the table – she served him all his '_TV dinners_' in front of the television set. Charlie could hardly credit how calmly the boy's parents took his behaviour – it was apparently 'normal' to them. How they could think this was acceptable Charlie wasn't sure, but they obviously did.


	2. How it all began - part 2

Charlie had been particularly distressed after the third winner was revealed to the world, and had gone to see his mother in the laundrette she worked in. She'd done her best to comfort him as he told her that he'd never be able to find a ticket, especially as there were now only two left to find. It was just so hard, life was so difficult, and he didn't stand a chance of anything to brighten up the bitter realities. Mom had told him that he had to hold on to hope, that one day life would get easier, would get better.

Unfortunately, she didn't have an answer to his question of when that would happen. If only he knew how much longer he would have to hold on for. It would make life so much easier, knowing when better times were coming. While he was sure some people had it worse than he did, it was hard to believe it, and Charlie had finally had enough of the difficult things life could throw at you.

He couldn't remember a day when he hadn't felt hungry and cold, and his memories of his father were... practically nonexistent. Just the half remembered sensation of a warm voice and the gentle touch of a hand. Charlie sometimes wondered if he'd imagined them. With his grandparents stuck in a bed, Charlie often felt like he was the second adult in the house, and they were the children, dependent upon him and Mom for everything. He knew it wasn't quite like that, but... He so wanted the chance to be a child again, but he didn't know how. If only thing were different.

His Mom had given him a warm hug before sending him home; telling him that what she longed for the most was to see him smile again – because seeing him smile was the most precious thing to her in the whole world. It didn't make the current difficult phase of life feel much easier, but it did warm his heart a little to be reminded of how much his Mom loved him.

Half of the issue was that Charlie couldn't really see why any of the children who had found a ticket so far were particularly special. Not special enough to be brought all the way to this town to tour Mr Wonka's wonderful factory surely? The spoilt brat Veruca would be coming all the way from the UK! Why couldn't one of the tickets have gone to someone... ordinary?

While Charlie would have loved it were he the lucky winner, he believed that any of the kids in his class would have been a more worthy recipient than the ones who had found a ticket so far – even his more privileged classmates had hardly anything when compared to those on the screen – their parents owned businesses, the parents of him and his classmates simply worked for those who owned businesses. Even Mr Turkentine, who was as keen as anyone to visit the factory, would have been a better candidate than the four lucky winners. None of these kids needed more recognition!

One evening, about the 15th of September, there was a lovely surprise for Charlie. The Great Ticket Hunt was still ongoing, and everyone was on tenterhooks to find out who the next lucky winner would be. Knowing how much Charlie longed to find a ticket, but that he would never spend his hard earned wages on something as trivial as a bar of chocolate, Grandpa Joe had decided to give him a second chance of finding one. Charlie had insisted on regularly handing over some of his weekly wages to Grandpa Joe so he could purchase some tobacco. Joe felt incredibly guilty about the fact his Grandson was now working to provide him with a little luxury, and he'd decided on this occasion that he would purchase a Wonka Bar for Charlie instead.

The evening after he had secretly bought the bar, Grandpa woke Charlie up late at night, and called him over to the bed. Once he'd found out what Grandpa had done, Charlie had told him that the money was for buying tobacco. Exasperated though he was, Charlie couldn't help but feel excited at the possibility as well, and the two of them had opened the chocolate bar clandestinely while everyone else was asleep, but it was all to no avail. True to form Charlie tried to hide his disappointment by pointing out that he thought the taste of the chocolate would be spoilt by the gold wrappers... It didn't work so well this time though, as he then broke down on his Grandfather... There was so little hope of him finding one of the golden tickets, and Charlie felt his chances slowly slipping away.

For him to have two chocolate bars in such a short period of time was unheard of before now. How could he even dream of being able to open another one before someone else found the last ticket? Charlie would just have to imagine that he had found one, and all the wonderful treats which would be in store for those lucky people. Maybe it would be hard to do, but it would keep him going through some of the harder days which would likely be coming up... Winter was approaching, and winter was always a difficult time for his family.

Two weeks later, on the 29th of September, when Charlie was tucked up in bed, he heard the news coming through the wall from where his Mom and grandparents were listening to the TV. Some multimillionaire who owned casinos in Paraguay had found the last remaining ticket. With that news, Charlie turned over and cried himself to sleep. That was all five tickets found by those who apparently had more money than sense, though he didn't know anything more about the 5th ticket winner than that he owned several casinos and had lots of money.

The roller coaster wasn't over there though. In class the following morning Mr Turkentine had decided to teach them about percent, and went on about how many chocolate bars everyone had opened during the great ticket hunt over the previous months. The two before him said they'd opened 250 bars between them – or 25% of 1000. When Charlie admitted to opening just 2 bars Mr Turkentine rounded it up to 200, and when Charlie explained what he meant the man's response had been demeaning. Didn't he realise that not everyone could afford to spend that kind of money on chocolate? To hide his bruised pride Charlie had lied through his teeth, stating that he didn't care very much for chocolate. Thankfully the lesson had carried on. If that wasn't enough for one day though, another high point was coming up, hidden just round the corner.

He was lucky enough to stumble on a half-dollar coin (a sixth of his weekly wage), on the way home from school that day. It had been hidden down a drain, obviously dropped by someone as they went about their daily business. Astonished by his luck, he'd been torn in two different directions. The sensible part of him thought he'd better purchase something for his family. He well knew the huge difference fifty cents would make to the weeks finances and this thought was a big pull. Any other day he would have simply taken it home and handed it over to his Mom.

Today however, his boyish heart was still stung from the insults thrown in class that morning, and he was aching to have a taste of some chocolate – it wouldn't take much out of the money he'd found, Charlie rationalised. Chocolate cost twenty cents at the very most. The thought of actually being able to have something sweet made the day feel so much better. He decided that the first shop he came across would be where he spent it.

As luck would have it, it was Bill's candy shop – the shop he often took a few minutes to gaze longingly though the windows of on his way to collect the papers for his round. He was soon the proud owner of a new Wonka's Scrumdiddlyumptious bar, and shoved half of it down his throat as quickly as he could. He even forgot to pay for it he was in such a hurry, but the shop owner soon rectified that, giving him thirty five cents change in return for the half dollar. Charlie had always thought Bill looked nice, but this was the first time he'd ever managed to talk to him – not surprising, given the amount Charlie had to spend on candy. Now he knew that Bill was a kind and thoughtful man, who had plenty of patience and knew his stuff when it came to candy.

He was on his way out of the store when he suddenly had the thought that he might buy a bar for Grandpa Joe while he was at it. It wouldn't make any difference to his chances of getting into the factory, but it would be nice for Grandpa to open a chocolate bar without the extra excitement about the place. If he got one knowing it was just a chocolate bar, there would be no cause to be disappointed at the lack of gold paper surrounding it. That was one of the reasons that Charlie didn't like the ticket hunt all that much. For the first time in his life he had experienced the feeling of disappointment after opening a bar of chocolate. One thing Charlie was sure about – chocolate should have nothing to do with regret!

Things didn't quite work out as he'd planned though. Bill had suggested he try a 'regular Wonka Bar' and Charlie had handed him the ten cents he knew it cost before leaving the shop and walking towards the newspaper stand, making sure the remaining twenty-five cents were safely tucked away in his pocket. To his surprise, he couldn't get close, as the stand was crowded with patrons... This might make doing his round difficult! Getting as close as he could, he soon heard that the finder of the last gold ticket was a fraudster who had made his own ticket up – meaning there was still a chance that someone else would find the last ticket.

Charlie knew there wasn't a ticket in his first bar, but there was always the chance that there would be one in the regular bar of chocolate he'd got for Grandpa Joe. Shaking with excitement, he quickly walked over to a nearby doorstep and ripped off the outer paper, before gingerly peeling away the silver foil. He could hardly believe his eyes when instead of the dark brown of the chocolate; he was confronted with a glimmer of gold. A second later he had whipped the rest of the wrapper aside to reveal the last golden ticket, which had been hidden beneath it! Without even thinking about what he was doing Charlie quickly abandoned the wrapper and the precious chocolate which had been so important to him a few minutes before. Holding the newly revealed ticket in his hands Charlie tried to take in the fact that he had actually found the coveted last golden ticket.

He was still staring at it in wonder when he found out he hadn't gone far enough away from the crowd as a lady interrupted him with a call, telling the world that he'd found the last golden ticket. She pulled him by the arm to the dense crowd surrounding the newspaper stand, waving the arm which held his ticket in the air. Charlie quickly got scared as visions of someone pulling the ticket from his grasp flashed before his eyes.

It didn't take long for them to be surrounded by bodies, an awful feeling as he couldn't see a way between them all, and everyone wanted to see the ticket. Thankfully Mr Jopeck was there, and he quickly took charge, somehow freeing Charlie from the woman, and steering a path through the crowd. Pulling Charlie's arm out of sight, Mr Joepeck advised him to run straight home and not to stop until he got there. Just before he let Charlie go Mr Jopeck whispered into his ear that he should take the next two days off and start work again after school on Monday, when everything should have returned to normal again. Still hardly believing his luck Charlie ran for it.

Even being free of the crowd Charlie wasn't free from fright however, as Arthur Slugworth, one of Mr Wonka's sneakiest rivals, confronted him as he was going through a particularly dark tunnel on his way home. He wanted Charlie to procure him an Everlasting Gobstopper, one of Mr Wonka's newest inventions, still not ready for sale yet. The carrot dangled for doing this was particularly tempting to Charlie – he would be paid enough to support his entire family for life.

Charlie didn't want to do it – he felt it would be betraying the factory that he had grown up beside, and loved hearing about. His favourite bedtime stories were about the magical land it had been before Mr Wonka was betrayed by spies. Spies Mr Slugworth had sent, in an attempt to put Mr Wonka out of business. To use the chance he'd been so wonderfully given for such a deed troubled him. The very idea cast a pall over the whole experience, and he decided he needed to talk about it with Grandpa Joe when he had the chance. The man had never steered him wrong yet, and his feelings about the factory were very similar to Charlie's. While Grandma Josephine, Grandma Georgina, and Grandpa George all agreed with his Mom, that there was too much hype about the place, both Charlie and Grandpa Joe felt it was a wondrously special place. They were so lucky to live practically next door to it – just down the street a little and around the corner.

When he got home, it took him a few minutes to convince his relatives that he had actually found a Golden Ticket as they hadn't heard of the discovery that one of the previous ticket finders had lied about finding one. They soon believed it when Grandpa Joe read the wording on the ticket out to them though "_Greetings to you the lucky finder of this golden ticket, from Mr Willy Wonka_..." and when the reporters descended on the house later that evening it clinched it for them.


	3. How it all began - part 3

One of the most wonderful things Charlie had ever experienced happened before the reporters arrived though. For the first time since long before his birth 12 short years before, his Grandpa Joe got out of bed. The reason for this miracle? Charlie needed an adult to go with him to the factory, and Grandpa Joe was both the person who would most appreciate the experience and the one Charlie wanted to join him. Both wanting to go, and not wanting to disappoint Charlie, Grandpa Joe put in a tremendous effort and was soon walking about their small home.

The pair of them spent what was left of the evening celebrating their wonderful luck – once they got all the unwelcome visitors out of their home that was! Part of it was also spent in looking out clothing that Grandpa Joe could wear for the visit as he'd not been out of his night clothing in more than 20 years.

Thankfully though he was of a similar build to Charlie's father, and they were able to find something that would do amongst some of the things Charlie's Mum had kept. They were slightly old fashioned, but they were warm and fitted well enough so they had to be satisfied with that – it wasn't as if Charlie would be wearing the most up to date clothing either after all.

The following morning they both dressed up warmly before savouring some of the last of the latest loaf of bread Charlie had brought home with him for breakfast. They also had a glance at the newspaper that someone had dropped through the door first thing that morning. There was an article about him in it, with the headline.

_**5**__**th**__** Ticket Finally Found – In The Nick Of Time!**_

_**Yes. Dreams Really Can Come True!**_

_**It's not quite 24 hours since the 5**__**th**__** Golden Ticket winner was shown to be a fraudster. Mere minutes after the news hit the newspaper stands one of our very own, Charlie Bucket, who actually lives in the shadow of the famous factory, unearthed the last ticket, which had previously been hidden in a bar of chocolate he bought from Bill's Candy Store. This was a most unusual purchase for the boy, only made possible by the fact he found a coin hidden half way down a drain. His discovery came just in time for him to join the tour of the factory, promised to all winners.**_

_**His employer, newspaper stand owner Alexander Jopeck, who was there when his discovery came to light, had the following to say:**_

_**"Charlie is a great boy. Steady, honest, reliable and completely dedicated to his family. He started working for me as a way to bring in a little extra money just a few months back, and he's always polite and cheerful when he carries out his paper round – I've had several compliments from those he delivers to already."**_

_**One of his classmates commented as to his attitude during the recent global ticket search... "Charlie carried himself with poise unknown by many others – even the teachers were known to comment on their disappointed hopes of finding a ticket, but Charlie kept his mouth closed. Looking closely when others went on about it, you could see the repressed hope and disappointment mingled in his eyes. **_

**"**_**In school he tends to be a bit of a loner, not really socialising much, but he is always kind to those who give him the chance. Most seem to ignore him, maybe the lack of trendy clothes and the latest collectors cards keep them away. I guess they don't really know what to say to him; even some of the teachers don't seem to like him all that much, if they way they speak to him is anything to go by.**_

_**"When questioned about the number of bars he'd opened while in class he admitted to only opening two, and when pushed on this he brushed it off with a throwaway comment about not really caring for chocolate. I can see why some people would wonder at him for this, but I get the feeling that he was simply finding a reason to avoid pointing out that some people simply cannot afford to spend as much on chocolate as others. Charlie so often seems hungry and cold that real food and warmer clothing would have to take a higher priority than chocolate... Much as anyone in our class would have loved to have found that ticket, I think Charlie probably deserved it the most – and would value the experience more than anyone else."**_

_**When asked about how he felt about winning the fifth ticket, Charlie, who lives in a small two room shack with his mother and four grandparents (his father having died over 9 years ago now), responded "I'm so excited. I think the feeling is even better having had the disappointment of thinking it was all over. Now I'm only just coming to realise that it's actually happening. If I hadn't found the ticket I'd probably have spent the day imagining that I had, and made up my own experiences, somehow I think the reality will be way better! I've grown up next to the factory, savouring the wonderful sweet scents wafting across the wall for as long as I can remember. Sometimes they're strong enough I can almost taste them – it's always so disappointing when I swallow and there's nothing in my mouth! **_

_**"I've heard all the stories about it from my Grandpa Joe, who loves it as much as I do. He tells me this will go down in the annals of Wonka History, and we're going to be able to help make it. It will make such wonderful memories for me to remember as I walk past the gates on my way to school in the future. I hope Mr Wonka realises just how happy he's making us!"**_

_**His obvious joy poured from his rather thin, pointed face – a child with huge responsibility being given the chance to experience the joy so many of his peers take for granted.**_

_**We at the Daily Chronicle would wish Charlie and all the other lucky winners a wonderful day at the factory.**_

Charlie found the article rather embarrassing. They had obviously spoken to Mary Trent. She was a fairly kind bookish person who was well known for her rather trenchant opinions, moralising, and her love of unusual expressions. She could obviously be quite insightful – even though he found she wasn't always the easiest person to spend time with. She'd had some very kind things to say about him, though he'd have preferred it if she had kept her more personal observations to herself.

Charlie admitted to himself that the quote the paper had taken of his comments showed some rather unusual language for his age as well, but he put this down to having his grandparents living with him. He remembered many days where Grandpa George would encourage him to 'waft that balloon over here' when he was younger and there was a little more money about the place – and Charlie would take his jumper off and use the air to send it spinning over towards him. Or on a day when the chocolate factory smells were really strong Grandma Georgina would order him to 'pause and savour the scent of the decadent chocolate' and Charlie would jump into bed between his two older grandparents, watching out for Grandma Josephine's feet while he did so, and join her in enjoying the wonderful smell which pervaded the house.

He was quite pleased at how proud his Mom and Grandparents seemed to be at the report. He just hoped that everyone else would be kind in the future – especially given he was the winner of a prize they'd all wanted. Once he had got over his excitement, and all the reporters had left, Charlie had found himself wondering if he'd have done better to sell the ticket so as to ensure a warmer winter for his whole family, but everyone seemed to want him to grab the chance he'd been given, and he so wanted it for himself as well...

The moment she heard the way he was thinking his Mom had squashed the thought flat, pointing out how much he had longed for one of the tickets. She wasn't having him give it up now he'd actually managed to find one. Sometimes, she explained gently, it was possible to be too generous, and the family would get by without the extra money just fine. Charlie hadn't been convinced, with thoughts of cold winter days, and empty bellies in his mind... What good would memories of a trip round the chocolate factory do him then.

Ellie gave her son a warm hug, reminding him that he hadn't expected to ever find a golden ticket, and how she had told him when he was worrying about that that things would change some day. Things had changed in that he'd found the ticket he dreamed about, and was going to experience some wonderful things because of that. Things would change again in the future, and maybe then they would experience winters where they were warm enough, and able to eat as much as they wanted.

To give up on such a treat simply because of the money it could bring in was simply mercenary, and she wasn't having it. Hard work was one way of raising the money they needed to survive, giving up on dreams was something altogether different. Maybe if he hadn't cared so much about the trip she would have had a different opinion, but she knew exactly how much the factory tour, and the chance to meet Mr Wonka, meant to him, and there was no way she was going to sit idly by and let her son pass up on such a treat. He did so much to supplement her earnings as it was. Charlie grinned as he remembered this conversation, and then turned his attention to finishing his breakfast – he wasn't sure how much they would get to eat while in the factory, nor how long the tour might last.

The time between getting up and heading over the road to the factory seemed to dawdle and yet, to disappear alarmingly quickly. A few hours later saw Charlie and Grandpa Joe sitting in a row along with the other factory winners, having turned up half an hour before the promised tour, in a bid to make sure they were there on time. They were by no means the first to arrive despite their rather early arrival, and while many more people did arrive while they were waiting there were already quite a number of people already gathered. As an extra cause for excitement, a brass band was playing just behind them, and people selling ice creams and other fancy food were wandering through the crowds. This, as well as the reporters, and the officials who checked Charlie's ticket before letting him up onto the Ticket Finders platform, formed much of Charlie's early impressions of the day. Charlie's Mom had seen them to the gate, and then slipped into the gathering crowd so as to watch him enter the factory. She would then go home to inform the rest of the family all about the spectacle the morning had been. It seemed this was to be the event of the season.

Charlie sat quietly for the first little while, taking in his surroundings. This was a very different scene to the one he passed on his way into town every morning! There was a red carpet reaching from the door to the nearest factory building to the gate, and then from the gate to the platform. The platform and red carpets were lined by barriers, which were supposedly keeping those not lucky enough to win tickets out – there was quite a crowd there!

Everyone was waiting with extreme levels of anticipation for the door to open, to get the first glimpse of Mr Wonka. Well, everyone, it seemed, except for the others in the row of seats set out for the ticket finders and accompanying adults, who seemed to be far more interested in making the most of being on television, eating whatever came within arm's reach, or making demands that they should be the first one to enter the building. Some people had no patience! Grandpa Joe shared in his excitement and had spent the first twenty minutes of their wait regaling Charlie with some of his favourite stories about the factory. Then, with ten minutes to go they fell silent again, both struggling to realise that this was actually happening to them.

Charlie was struck by the difference in attitudes once again. He felt his previous opinions about who was getting the biggest treat being here had been spot on. He, and the other people who lived in the area were extremely excited to have the chance to even see their local, rather reclusive celebrity, the visitors were far more interested in all of the other experiences involved. Mr Wonka obviously had no idea exactly what he meant to the people of the town. Perhaps he would gain some idea when he saw the crowd gathered, there only for the chance to see him, or maybe to hear him speak.

Of course, Charlie was going to experience far more than that of the famous man, but he still identified with those who hadn't been lucky enough to find one of the tickets. This was a momentous occasion.


	4. Inside the Factory - introductory matter

_Welcome back everyone. I hope that you enjoy this update... There are one or two elements of this which come straight from the book, rather than the film. Just this chapter, and one more before we're onto a completely new stuff. Thank you for bearing with me while we get the introductions out of the road... Words in italic's are lifted from the film itself._

_If you recognise it from elsewhere it doesn't belong to me..._

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Inside the Factory

Finally the clock struck 10 and the door to the building creaked open to reveal... an empty doorway. Soon sounds of someone approaching could be heard. The tension was mounting and silence fell, as everyone looked forwards to their first glimpse of the eccentric factory owner. The almost carnival like atmosphere disappeared quickly as the click of a cane was heard.

Suddenly he appeared in the doorway – a tall thin man wearing a bright purple coat, a waistcoat with some kind of purple detailing on it, a flamboyant cream bowtie, with a stiff white collar showing just above it, and cream trousers alongside a tan top hat. Riotous mid-brown reddish curls waved almost to his shoulders – especially closer to the back of his head. He was leaning heavily on a cane as he progressed through the doorway and paused a moment. From his vantage point to the far right of the ticket finders Charlie thought he could detect the cane bending slightly as the man leant on it. A heavy silence enveloped the waiting crowd.

Slowly he limped forwards, taking one torturous step at a time... and yet... there was something in the way he moved that reminded Charlie of a showman. Something in the way he moved made the boy wonder if this was put on for the crowds.

Walking forwards slowly, leaning heavily on his gently bending cane as he limped towards them, Mr Wonka looked an austere, serious man – the expression on his face unusually severe, or possibly blank. He didn't seem to take much joy from the proceedings at all. Charlie frowned and turned to look at his Grandfather in confusion. It seemed to take forever for the man to progress up the path, and the cane seemed to bend a bit more with every step he took.

Eventually he progressed into some shadow, and moved slowly through it, taking his top hat off as he slowly got nearer to the gate. Finally he arrived about a persons length from the gate when disaster struck – his cane got trapped between the cobbles and he stood tall without it, taking one step forwards and pausing again, before seeming to give at the ankles and fall forwards... only to disappear from Charlie's line of sight for a moment before he suddenly came back to a standing position right up at the gate itself. Mr Wonka had just turned a forwards roll! Charlie grinned in delighted relief – not only was Mr Wonka not injured as he had appeared to be, but he'd just proven himself a most unusual, entertaining gentleman who was well skilled at playing to the crowds!

The image Mr Wonka presented now was completely different to the first impression Charlie had received. He had a beaming smile, a kindly welcoming face, and stood tall and strong, a man in the prime of life. Mr Wonka welcomed everyone to the factory gates "_Welcome my friends, welcome to my factory_" and then invited the ticket finders to "_come forwards_." There was a mad scramble to be first, and Veruca's father actually pulled the chubby boy, back to let his daughter go in front, exclaiming '_Get back you_!'

Charlie felt rather horrified at his outburst and quickly decided that he would stay as far away as possible from the man. This wouldn't be hard to do as the pair seemed determined to stay at the front of the pack, while Charlie was quite content to wait until later. It wasn't as if he would miss out on anything by waiting. As he joined the group on their way down to the front of the crowd Charlie caught sight of several people he knew – including Mr Jopeck and Mr Slugworth. The latter made a small sign to the children as they passed, and Charlie pointed him out to his Grandpa, shivering slightly as they passed the slightly creepy man.

Mr Wonka had very kindly welcomed them all to the factory once again, and told them that it would be such an exciting day and that he hoped they would enjoy it – he thought they would at least. Then he took their tickets from them, and got their names as they finally passed through the gates. He seemed to have a strange mix of honesty and almost instinctive politeness in his manner – perhaps refusing to say what he really thought of some of them, and lavishing complements on them. He complimented Veruca on her mink coat, and the obnoxious little girl had informed him that she had three others at home! Still he smiled, said how charming she was, before turning to speak to her father. Charlie had missed the exchange Mr Wonka had with Augustus and his mother, but the other little girl, Violet, insisted on asking him about what gum he produced, and Mr Wonka had made some random comment before welcoming her father.

The television besotted kid had then jabbed Mr Wonka in the stomach with his gun, and Mr Wonka simply told his mother how nice he was! There was something different about the way he greeted Charlie. The boy felt that while he was merely being polite to the others, he was being completely honest in his welcome to him – those wonderfully kind eyes had sparkled at him so joyfully.

Mr Wonka had said that he'd read about Charlie in the papers, and was '_so happy_' for him... He'd seemed almost distracted when welcoming Grandpa Joe though. Initially the same kindness he'd greeted Charlie with was present, but partway through it things changed, he seemed to say the right words, but the feeling was gone. It was almost like being greeted by a parrot, rather than a person. It was a decidedly strange sensation. Charlie wondered if his thoughts had gone elsewhere. Maybe he remembered Grandpa Joe from somewhere – Grandpa had lived here all his life after all.

With the ticket inspection over, Mr Wonka swept the whole party into the factory, picking up his cane as they went. The first surprise came almost as soon as they entered the factory. It came just after Mr Wonka had given his signature catch phrase as Charlie was coming to think on it '_we've got so much time and so little to see... strike that, reverse it!_'

They were just hanging their coats up in the cloak room, on hand shaped hangers, when the hands suddenly gripped onto the items, causing a shriek of surprise from some of the others of the party. Mr Wonka had reassured them, by stating that while there were surprises '_round every corner_' there was '_nothing dangerous_,' and that they'd get on once their outdoor clothing was '_in hand_.' Charlie had smiled to himself at that one – this was a rather literal version of something being 'in hand.' He almost burst out laughing at Grandpa Joe's expression when one of the hands above his head smoothly removed his hat for him! The utter confusion on his face had been priceless.

The first stop after removing jackets had been the business of signing a contract. This immediately had some of the parents up in arms. Charlie couldn't believe it. Here was Mr Wonka graciously giving them the chance to see round his factory – one he'd closed years before to any people whatsoever due to spies – and they were complaining about being asked to sign something? Not just complaining, getting extremely annoyed at him. How greedy could people get? Charlie felt it was understandable that Mr Wonka would want to protect himself after all the problems he'd had so many years before, and he was being incredibly generous as it was.

The stalemate was soon passed when Mr Wonka pointed out that if they didn't sign the contract they couldn't go in. Veruca had immediately informed her father that she wanted to go in, and there was no way he was going to stop her. She signed the wall length contract quickly shouting about how he was '_always making things difficult_.' Mr Wonka had commented on how nicely Veruca had handled the situation, but Charlie couldn't help but wonder if it didn't show something about how she was likely to behave once they got inside. Was it really a good thing to experience such a tour with someone who so obviously was prone to ignoring what her father thought?

One by one the rest of the children signed the contract, with Charlie being the only one to ask permission from his Grandfather to actually do so, and then they went through several peculiar locking systems to get into the factory proper.

There was a combination lock – _'99, 44, 100% pure'_, a couple of very strange corridors, and a musical lock. The whole trip was starting to remind Charlie of a fun house, and it seemed he wasn't the only one. When one of the fathers asked Mr Wonka if this was '_some kind of funhouse_' Mr Wonka had responded with a sardonic question of his own '_Why, having fun?_' Charlie stifled a giggle at that – it seemed to him that he and his Grandfather were the only ones who were enjoying themselves in the least, the others just seemed put out at the whole experience.

He was soon proven correct by the fact that most of the others wanted to leave by the time they had almost progressed through the first long and narrow corridor. This one resembled a long cupboard with a strange, illusion like, black and white wall paper. It also surprised him as it apparently moved round while they were scrambling over each other and getting stuck in the narrow space, as the one door opened to a completely different corridor after a few minutes. Mr Wonka told those who talked about wanting to '_get out of here_' that they needed '_to go forwards to go back_.'

He went on and had to take his top hat off and crouch so that he could fit into the corridor which was getting progressively smaller – after more argument, and being told that they should '_never never doubt, what nobody is sure about_' they finally joined him at the top of the corridor, crouching as they went. Charlie was quickly coming to the conclusion that grownups hated anything they couldn't immediately understand, and that these grownups in particular found anything even slightly strange as a reason to want to escape from the factory. He couldn't quite understand them – why would they want to leave when they had only just started on a voyage of discovery? And why would someone say so quickly that they '_couldn't take much more of this_?' They hadn't experienced much of anything yet.

Soon after they had managed to traverse up the corridor with the strange ceiling Mr Wonka played a tune on a strange musical lock, and opened the smallest door in the place. The biggest issue with this was that no one could possibly fit through it – as several of the parents had already pointed out in disgust. Except, by the time the door was open, the space to the sides and above their heads was huge and the door proved to be an enormous thing backed with metal – the continuing illusions were making Charlie smile. Just before he opened it Mr Wonka told them that it was possible to eat practically everything in the room. Hardly believing it, Charlie watched as the door opened, and they all stepped slowly out onto the top of a staircase, and took in their surroundings.

That room, the first real room of the day, had to be Charlie's favourite – he'd have happily spent the whole day in there. They'd entered it, and stopped in amazement at the scenery that stood in front of them. This wasn't a factory – this was a world. A world made of sugary goodness – the scent was amazing; reminding Charlie of all the reasons he loved chocolate. Beneath the stair case a path of what looked like brown gravel stretched ahead of them (Charlie was later to learn that this path was made of chocolate granules). There was something which looked like grass, and all sorts of 'growing' things. Huge jelly teddies hung on trees, large balls and balloons and huge multicoloured candy canes sprouted from baskets while giant lollipops were sticking out of the ground at random intervals. A large water feature of a brown river complete with waterfall was one of the most eye catching things in the room, and there were so many other signs of nature in the trees and grass and plants that Charlie could hardly believe it was all indoors. And Mr Wonka said this was all edible? How could it be?

They had entered little by little, Veruca and her father managing to be the first through the door, and had paused in amazement while Mr Wonka closed the door behind them all. The first thing he said on joining them again was '_hold your breath, make a wish, count to three_' and then he told them to follow him. Next he moved to the front of the group and slowly lead them down the stairs, sometimes whacking his walking stick against the railings as the two girls tried to make a break for the rest of the room. Finally they reached the bottom of the stairs, and Mr Wonka jumped down and spun around to face them, hands held up in the universal sign for 'stop.' A few moments later he had bowed, sweeping behind him with his arms, a signal to go and explore. At that, everyone dove off to get better acquainted with this wonderful world in a room which was laid out in front of them.


	5. Inside the Factory - The Chocolate Room

Before they entered the room Mr Wonka had told them that it was a world made completely from imagination. Charlie had to smile at the memory of this... He certainly wouldn't have imagined seeing anything like this when thinking about what the visitors to the factory would encounter. To make the experience even more surreal, Mr Wonka wandered about the room singing about the pure imagination which had gone into the making of the room. "_If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it... Want to change the world, there's nothing, to it_."

He warbled the lyrics as he moved around the scenery, making various sweet treats easier for the visitors to get at, and munching on an occasional candy leaf. Suddenly the tune slowed down, and became more reflective, as Mr Wonka started to sing the last short section. "_There is no life I know, to compare with pure imagination, living there; you'll be free, if you truly, wish to be_." Silence fell as the almost haunting tones worked their magic on the other occupants of the room and they meandered quietly round the rest of the room, the first excited explorations somehow gentling into a more relaxed drifting about the place.

This was one of the memories of Mr Wonka Charlie was always going to love. That image of him wandering round the chocolate room, enjoying the fruits of his labour, and sharing them with others would always be special to him. Then, at the end of his song, he sat down and picked up a flower, which seemed to be an edible cup and saucer. He drained the cup, and then started to eat it.

Charlie spent a lot of time simply enjoying the sweet smells which pervaded the room. He also enjoyed watching what the others were doing, though he and Grandpa Joe did enjoy a taste of some large candy canes. He was already coming to care about the chocolatier – there was just something so admirable about the man, something which reached out and touched Charlie's heart.

This wasn't his best memory of the room though, that was to come when some of the adults gathered round the huge brown river, commenting that it was a '_horrible, dirty river_,' and that the water must have been ruined, like sewage... They congratulated each other on having found something wrong with this wonderful room. That was, right up until Mr Wonka wandered over to join them and casually mentioned that it was actually chocolate, and was being churned by the waterfall they could see.

He seemed so excited about it, telling them that no other factory in the world churned its chocolate by waterfall. The whole group had been amazed at that revelation, hardly believing that such a thing could be possible. The disbelief was even more apparent when he added the extra detail of there being ten thousand gallons of chocolate sent through the river every hour. The details were utterly mind boggling. No wonder Mr Wonka found this one feature, obviously the most important part of the whole room, so exciting.

Then Charlie spotted little men (the tallest could be no more than four foot high) with green hair, white eyebrows, and orange faces. Soon they learned that these were Oompa Loompa's, and came from Loompa-land and that Mr Wonka had rescued them from being eaten by the various ferocious animals there. Apparently they loved cacao beans – another name for what chocolate was made out of, so a chocolate factory was the perfect place for them to work. They ran the factory, and Mr Wonka took care of them. It seemed a fair exchange.

There were so many impressions from this room which stuck with him – the way Veruca was turning into an 'I Want!' Charlie's Mom would have immediately turned round and said 'I want, don't get,' but all Mr Salt did was say he would do his best to get it for her, later. Thankfully, when Veruca demanded he sort it out for her now, Violet told her to shut up! Just as well too, seeing the thing she was demanding at that point was one of the Oompa Loompa's – what sort of a person would want to own another being – they may not look like any other type of person Charlie had ever seen, but in no way should they be reduced to being someone else's pet!

Another impression was the way Mr Wonka avoided questions. He'd simply ignored Violet at the gate when she'd asked about gum, now when one of the fathers asked something he informed him that "_all_ _questions must be submitted in writing_." He'd also talked about them being saved until the end of the tour while they were in the entrance hall as well... There was obviously something about questions, or perhaps certain kinds of demanding or demeaning questions, that Mr Wonka just did not seem to like.

Then they'd noticed Augustus trying to drink the river, scooping it up in his hands. The adults tried to get him to stop, and Mr Wonka had seemed terribly distressed about _'human hands_' touching his chocolate. He called out for Augustus to stop it while the large group formed by the visitors obstructed his path to the boy, so he couldn't actually reach him to physically pull him away until it was too late.

Charlie had to admit, that if this was what was going into the chocolate bars, it was a little disgusting for someone to stick their hands in it. But Mr Wonka seemed rather soft and squashy, like a marshmallow here. In fact, in every situation where he was dealing with children doing something he didn't want them to, he sounded very much like he didn't expect them to listen to him. There was something lacking in his tone, possibly he just wasn't firm enough about it – he'd never have made it as a teacher.

Then, when the boy fell in he was most distressed about his chocolate, not about the boy who couldn't swim. In fact, when Mrs Gloop demanded he '_do something_' he spoke in an almost bored or indifferent tone, citing '_help. Police. Murder_.'

Charlie didn't know what to think of his hero at that moment, but quickly did as his Grandpa Joe suggested and held out a huge lollipop for Augustus to grab onto – just a moment too late for him to get a good grip before sinking beneath the liquid.

When the boy disappeared up a pipe the whole group grew rather concerned, especially when he got stuck half way up the tube for a few minutes. Although that did confirm the boy was still breathing, which was something. Charlie had worried that he wouldn't get out again, until Grandpa Joe explained something Mr Wonka had mentioned earlier about pressure building up behind the blockage. Grandpa had reminded Charlie about a time when he was a young child and he'd asked _how a bullet came out of a gun_. This was soon going to be a very visual explanation of this same principal.

Mr Wonka seemed to be growing increasingly fed up of the worries of everyone else though. While they were lamenting, he suddenly seemed to switch gears and came out with a phrase which utterly confused Charlie "_The suspense is terrible... I hope it will last_." Not only had the sentiment behind the expression thrown him, the situation he was using it in was even more confusing – it just didn't ring true with what Charlie already knew about the man.

With more experience of Mr Wonka, and touring the factory, Charlie eventually came to the conclusion that he had to be quoting someone. Charlie guessed it was partly to relieve his own concern, and partly to distract everyone else from theirs. The whole showmanship thing he was so good at was coming out again. If Charlie was right in his surmises, the comment did achieve its aim, as Mr Wonka earned himself a few disgusted looks from the other adults. But what else was there to be done? There was nothing they could do for Augustus while he was stuck in the pipe.

Finally the fat boy had come free with an almighty 'POP' sound and had shot up the pipe at a tremendous speed. So much so that Charlie was relieved that he couldn't see any bends in the pipe, that should mean he wasn't at any risk of a head injury. Once they had seen that Augustus had got through the tube as safely as possible, Mr Wonka pulled a whistle from his pocket and played a special trill to call one of the Oompa Loompa's to him.

A few minutes later, once Mrs Gloop had been despatched to the fudge room to find Augustus, the other Oompa Loompa's in the area sang a song about the evils of being greedy. All the while they were singing the Oompa Loompa's continued on with their task of creaming and sugaring the river before heading back out of the room, via a secret door in the rock.

Charlie had choked when the line '_I don't like the look of it'_ came up soon after something about what would come of eating sweets all day long. He quickly got over it when Mr Wonka began talking in French however. With time, and the use of body language Charlie eventually deducted that they were being invited on board a boat. That was one of the things he was coming to learn about Mr Wonka – the man was extremely skilled with languages. The problem came when he seemed not to realise that others wouldn't understand him if he dropped into something other than English.

As they boarded the Wonkatania some of the parents questioned its safety – which was silly in Charlie's opinion, it was obviously just fine given the way it was floating with the Oompa Loompa crew. Mr Wonka told the '_dear lady,_' as he called both the mothers visiting the factory, who had asked the last question that he took good care of his guests. Unfortunately this lead to one of the fathers cynically commenting that he'd taken '_real good care of_ _that August kid_.'

Charlie felt that wasn't exactly fair – Augustus had been told not to drink the river; he'd only got into trouble by not doing what he was told, and at least Mr Wonka remembered the boys name, unlike the man who was criticising him. Charlie knew that anything Mr Wonka invited them to do was sure to be perfectly safe. He also noted that when Mr Wonka had reassured the mother he'd spoken in an unusual accent for him. This made him wonder whether Mr Wonka was quoting something again, or whether he was trying to make it seem like he wasn't bothered by the way the other adults were constantly denigrating him. Charlie thought he wouldn't like it if they had treated him like that, however old he was, so began to think it was more likely to be the latter. Given the reception they had given this wonderful room, he found himself starting to feel really sorry for the Chocolatier.

This could well be one of the best rooms in the whole factory, and they'd just gobbled up the offered treats like greedy children, and then started to criticise the man who had created it. In some ways it reminded Charlie of a poem by Yeats he'd heard referred to in English class once, where the ending stated something along the lines of "tread softly, for you are standing on my dreams." Maybe if Mr Wonka were more willing to let people understand what he was thinking, he'd have quoted that rather than some of the strange things he'd said so far.

Unfortunately for Charlie, who had started to recover his equanimity, Grandpa Joe upset his composure again moments later, when he whispered that if Veruca was a lady, he was a Vermicious Sknid. This was the name of one of the many strange creatures Mr Wonka had rescued the Oompa Loompa's from. Charlie had to admit that the comment was well deserved as it came soon after her father pompously told everyone else that it should be '_Ladies first_' to get on board the boat, and then pointed out that '_that means Veruca_.'

Once they were all safely on the boat they quickly set off, with Mr Wonka telling them that they were going to love the experience – '_just love it_.' This comment was followed very quickly by the strangest boat ride Charlie had ever taken. Charlie was coming to realise that when Mr Wonka made a statement about how much they were going to enjoy something, it was as well to watch out for whatever strange thing might take place next. While it would likely be very exciting, strange and possibly rather scary, it would also be perfectly safe. It would just... rather upset any adults amongst the party!

One of Charlie's fondest memories from this ride though was another proof of the care Mr Wonka had for those he perceived to be 'in need.' Before the boat had entered the tunnel of strangeness – flashing lights of red and green, disgusting images on the walls flashing before their eyes, and a disturbing tune playing - he'd taken a mug out from beside him and dipped it into the chocolate, pulling out a generous amount before handing it over to Charlie, telling the boy he looked like he could do with a nice hot drink. Then, as Charlie was savouring the delicious and somehow comfortingly warm liquid, he filled another mug and gave it to Grandpa Joe, saying he could probably do with some as well. Thankfully everyone else seemed to miss this interaction, so there were no cries of favouritism.

The lucky pair sipped on their chocolate for the duration of the journey, enjoying the warmth and energy flowing through them as everyone else shouted about the strange things which were going on, and calling Mr Wonka mad. If Mr Wonka was mad, it was nothing more than an adaptation of the fun house act he'd put on from the start, continuing singing in a slightly spooky manner in response to the yelling of the other adults. '_There's no way of knowing, which direction we are going..._' and then something about danger growing, but all in that spooky half sung, half spoken tone, which intensified the atmosphere.

Charlie found it rather endearing really. There was no question that the man took showmanship to the extreme, though Charlie was now starting to wonder if he used the act as a way to hide his real self from people. Had he been so hurt by others in the past that he couldn't let strangers see who he really was anymore? Charlie had to count that as a real possibility. He did have to roll his eyes at the father who pointed out the blindingly obvious when he commented that Mr Wonka was singing. Charlie sat there thinking that Mr Wonka was also breathing, but he didn't feel the need to mention it to everyone – they could tell it just as easily as he could!

Suddenly one of the other kids said she was scared and begged her father to _make him stop_, causing him to yell at Mr Wonka that it had _gone far enough_ and to stop it now. In an instant Mr Wonka was all businesslike stating "_Quite right sir! Stop the boat! We have arrived_!" He then stated something that Charlie was pretty sure was a misquote of someone, something about "_A short step for mankind, but a giant step for us_," before making his voice sound like a whistle as he said '_all ashore_.' With that they all quickly disembarked, Charlie and his grandfather leaving their empty mugs in the boat as they had been instructed during the ride.

As they were standing in line, waiting to exit the boat, Charlie was quite sure he heard Veruca say something she had probably never said before. She told her father that she did _not want a boat like this_. As she had gone on about how beautiful the boat was and how much she longed to have one just like it soon after they got on board, Charlie thought that was quite a turnaround for her.


	6. Inside the Factory - the Inventing Room

Here's the last update which covers the happenings of the film - after this one we'll be onto the 'how does Charlie/his family cope with moving into the factory?' type stuff.

Thank you to Turrislucidus for the review - it's lovely to see what you think of this.

Hope you enjoy this update.

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Inside the Factory - The Inventing Room Experience

Once they were back on the ground again, Charlie and his grandfather spent some time looking at the door to a store room, which apparently held all kinds of creams, including hair cream. Given the rest were things like whipped cream and coffee cream, this was a rather surprising departure. Knowing Mr Wonka though, it was likely the strangest take on hair cream possible – maybe it looked like hair or something?

Hearing Mr Wonka starting to unlock a different door they hurried over to the rest of the group, quickly reading a sign which stated that strictly only those Oompa Loompa's who were authorised should pass through the door. As they approached the group Mr Wonka removed the key. Charlie had to smile at the sight of it, it looked a little like a two pronged corkscrew. The handle twirled round in a bracket which was attached to some cogs. They in turn would rotate two key shaped structures in different directions. Charlie and Grandpa Joe reached the gathering just in time to hear what Mr Wonka was saying...

Not that this did them much good, for as they stopped at the door they realised that Mr Wonka was giving a quick introduction to the room in German. Goodness knew what he was trying to tell them; Charlie only caught the most occasional word. After one last short pause to go over the instructions "_no touching, no tasting, no telling_" Mr Wonka led the group into one of the strangest rooms Charlie had ever seen – the Inventing room.

There were dozens of steaming tubs and it seemed like hundreds of Oompa Loompa's were scurrying round in different directions. Each contraption was different and there were so many different things going on that it was hard to know where to start. Charlie commented to Grandpa Joe that _even if Mr Slugworth did get in he'd be unable to find anything_ as it was all so strange.

There was steam rising from so many different containers and machines Grandpa Joe commented that the place reminded him of a _Turkish Bath_! Two of the machines in particular stood out to Charlie. One was draped in coloured materials, while another strange contraption had lots of different bowls around it. Each of these held a strange concoction at several different stages of a process and there was a large glass container in the middle with bees inside it.

There was also a 5 funnelled pink thing with steam coming out of each funnel, a musical note sounding at each puff, as well as two huge baths full of liquid, and a large thing twirling about overhead with bottles of coloured liquid, hanging upside down. Oompa Loompa's were guiding it into depositing some of each in different pots as it went.

As soon as they had all entered Mr Wonka threw several different coloured liquids into a beaker and tasted the result. He ended up speaking in a voice about three octaves higher than normal when someone asked if it was any good... Charlie guessed that it had caught at his throat. Either that or it had a similar effect to a diluted version of liquid helium.

Then, while Mr Wonka was churning the concoction in one of the pots by way of riding a bike, Mike Teevee distracted everyone by being blown backwards by something he'd been expressly told not to touch, never mind taste. He collided with a rack of pots and pans which then proceeded to fall about him. It took a few moments for order to be restored after that little excitement, though Mr Wonka quickly continued on with his inspection of the various different pots of simmering liquid in the place.

Charlie was quite sure that Mr Wonka was playing with their heads when he threw a clock into a soapy looking mixture with a comment about not wasting time though. At the next pot he plunked some trainers into the steaming mixture (telling those who asked that they would give it '_a little kick'_) and then dropped a boiler suit type thing into another steaming blend – apparently it was "_far too cold_..." Surely these things had to be a continuation of his showman act, it couldn't be anything else, could it?

It was around this time that the 'I Want' girl's father had cornered Mr Wonka about having a bathtub of Butter Scotch and another of Butter Gin in the room... This was when Charlie cottoned on to Mr Wonka's love of bewildering people by using strange phrases as he retorted in a quick whisper that '_Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker_.' The man had laughed in confusion, but Charlie felt that the phrase must have come from somewhere – and that Mr Wonka was using it to keep the man at arm's length. It certainly seemed like some kind of defence system at least...

That was one thing about being on the outside of things so often – you soon got pretty good at observing people. Charlie had talked about many of his observations with Grandpa Joe, and occasionally with Grandma Josephine too. Their insights had helped him refine his interpretative skills, until he began to get to the point where he felt he could trust them more.

The feeling that he could understand why some people acted the way they did helped Charlie feel better about himself. It was one of the ways he protected himself – if he could work out a reason why people acted the way they did by observing them, then when they did something which upset him he could work out what they were actually trying to do.

More often than not they were trying to avoid something which would hurt them it seemed. This knowledge helped him feel less upset when he was on the receiving end... to a certain extent at least. He could at least be sure they weren't doing it because they hated him, if nothing else – it generally wasn't personal. That was another reason why the uncertainty of the tickets had upset him so much though – there was some hope, but it was all so uncertain... Chance wasn't something Charlie appreciated terribly much!

Suddenly there was a loud beeping from the large cloth covered machine – one of the fathers had attempted to look beneath the cloths. Mr Wonka had quickly gone up to him asking him not to do that, and saying that this was something he couldn't let anyone do. Then when Charlie had asked him what the machine did Mr Wonka had turned it on.

He seemed so childlike and excited at that moment, filled with suppressed joy – a possessor of a wonderful secret he was longing to share with them all. He had told them that it would '_sizzle'_ Slugworth just before turning on the machine. After a quick blowing and beeping, and general confusion as to what it was actually doing Mr Wonka showed them the produce – Everlasting Gobstoppers. This then was the thing Mr Slugworth had asked Charlie to procure for him.

Charlie noticed that all the other children seemed especially interested in the machine when this fact came out; Maybe Charlie wasn't the only one who had been given the offer of money if they abstracted a gobstopper... The news that it was possible to suck on them forever and they would remain the same size really captured Charlie's interest. Even if he was going to be given a lifetime supply of chocolate a sweet like that would be amazing.

They were the weirdest shape imaginable though – a group of oblongs stuck together at different angles, each one a different colour, it might be quite difficult to suck on one. Given the way all the other children were begging to be given a gobstopper Mr Wonka asked who would like one, and when everyone (including Charlie) said they would, he asked for their solemn promise to keep it strictly to themselves he handed out one to each of them...

Even then that little Miss 'I Want Everything' Veruca Salt had tried to make things difficult by claiming that Miss 'Chewing Gum' Violet Beauregarde had two, so she wanted a second one as well... Charlie could hardly believe that she was so silly as to think Mr Wonka would be taken in by this claim – he had personally placed one sweet in each child's hand after all. As expected Mr Wonka replied firmly "_Everybody has had one, and one is enough for anybody_."

After all the children, including Charlie (who only got one when Grandpa Joe interfered, causing Mr Wonka to give him one saying '_And one for Charlie_') had been given a gobstopper he showed them the newest invention he was focussing on. This was the machine with all the different plates and bowls, and bee's in the middle of it, producing honey... Mr Wonka described it as a '_revolutionary, non-pollutionary mechanical wonder_.'

Charlie had had to point out the on switch as Mr Wonka looked round, mumbling something about '_button, button who's got the button..._' The machine whizzed and whirred for a while, various covers plunking down, some things being beaten or mashed as the plates rotated round the various stations.

Charlie noticed Mr Wonka looking at the machine as it worked, he wore the same kind of grin as he had when talking about the everlasting gobstopper machine. He was swiftly coming to realise that Mr Wonka was rather fanatical about his work; taking great joy from things working the way they were supposed to. It almost seemed like a paternal pleasure in the processes of his creations.

At the end of this performance, a bit of chewing gum was produced, which Mr Wonka said was the equivalent of a full three course meal. He said it actually gave the sensation of eating something more substantial than chewing gum. Mr Salt, Veruca's father, had suggested this was '_bull_,' which Charlie thought was rather rude of him, but Mr Wonka had ignored the horrid man, simply telling him that this one was actually a roast beef dinner.

On hearing this, Violet had pulled the bit of gum from Mr Wonka's hand, insisting that she was going to eat it – despite Mr Wonka saying that this was a bad idea, something he '_really wouldn't do.'_ She decided that she knew best and began to eat it, telling the rest of the group exactly what the experience was like.

Rich tomato soup was the first course, and she talked about how she could feel the warm creamy substance as she swallowed. She seemed to really enjoy the roast beef and baked potato as well, though that seemed to be finished in seconds. Then she began to savour the taste of blueberry pie, until disaster struck and her face started to turn a bright blue colour. She continued to chew as her body started to expand, getting rounder and rounder until you could only see her hands, feet, and head sticking out from this large, blue spherical shape. Violet had turned into a blueberry. Seeing this, Mr Beauregard turned round and started to shout abuse at Mr Wonka.

Charlie had been horrified – Mr Wonka had told her not to eat the gum (even if it had been in a very mild manner). The girl's father had practically encouraged her to have it, and then when things went wrong, he shouted at Mr Wonka that he was going to '_break you for this._' Did he really believe it was Mr Wonka's fault Violet had decided that she knew better than he did? Charlie was rather scared to hear she was going to have to be squeezed so she didn't explode though. The whole experience would later give him a very healthy respect for the inventing room, and for those individuals who worked inside it.

One thing which Charlie had noticed about Mr Wonka on this occasion was really starting to intrigue him. Once he'd given his mild mannered instructions against doing something he knew wouldn't turn out well, Mr Wonka then seemed to choose to completely ignore what was happening in front of him. It was almost like he was washing his hands of the whole affair.

He'd given one further attempt at controlling Violet while she was eating the gum, saying '_stop, don't,_' but once again the tone was almost defeated, as if he knew she wasn't going to do as he told her before he opened his mouth. It was as pointless a waste of his breath as his response to Mrs Gloop's histrionics' in the chocolate room. Charlie was also astonished at the way Violet completely ignored the older man's warnings. He guessed that it was something to do with her having got away with it so far. She must have been one of those children who know everything and always had to be right!

When Mr Wonka eventually spoke again it was to say '_I told you I hadn't got it quite right yet._' It seemed the rather introverted inventor was with them, pondering over exactly what might have gone wrong in the process before shrugging it off again. Once again, Charlie wondered if this was a way for him to protect himself from the rather angry father. Easier to focus on exactly what was going on with the gum rather than deal with the accusations thrown by Violet's concerned relative.

Next, some Oompa Loompa's joined them from other parts of the room, and sang about how revolting it was to chew all day – as if you were a cow. Charlie was beginning to think that he shared many of the opinions the Oompa Loompa's were voicing – he'd just never vocalise them. They had to move Violet out of the room by rolling her along as her legs were no longer long enough to carry her. Charlie thought they secretly enjoyed this version of bowling – catching her quickly before she knocked into anything, and then opening the doors to get her out of the inventing room. Violet's father followed, dragged by another Oompa Loompa, lamenting that he now had '_a blueberry for a daughter_.'


	7. Inside the Factory - Veruca!

When they finally moved on after Violet and her father had been despatched to the squeezing room they headed off for a quick look at a few other rooms. The first stop was a hallway, where Charlie got to taste something again. Mr Wonka had them pause when they were halfway down it to another room, when he suddenly saw what was on the wall and suggested that they stopped to sample the likable wall paper. It was white with lots of different fruits on them. Charlie sampled a picture of a banana, which was delicious, and the others seemed to enjoy the different fruits they had tried as well. All the fruits they recognised tasted indiscernible from the real thing.

Unfortunately it seemed as though Veruca just had to improve the situation by commenting on Mr Wonka mentioning a fruit she'd never heard of before, Snozberries, in the rudest way imaginable. Mr Wonka came out with one of his quotes which seemed to stop the other person in their tracks – something about 'we' being '_the dreamers of dreams'_. Charlie didn't quite follow that one. They very quickly moved on again after this – it seemed that Mr Wonka was quickly running out of patience and had decided the only way to control the annoying little girl was to head somewhere else.

The next room they visited was the scene of the event Charlie was most embarrassed about. He didn't want to spend a lot of time thinking on it, but he did admit to himself that he had done wrong... Mr Wonka had showed them into a room where he made fizzy lifting drinks, but declined to offer them any, saying '_bubbles bubbles everywhere, but not a drop to drink – yet_'.

The room was amazing, these huge bubbles floating about the place, blown by a machine, and a huge tall tower made of metal struts, with a gigantic fan at the top. The bubbles seemed to float around a bit before settling into some bottles. The other children had begged to try some of the juice, but Mr Wonka had refused permission, stating that he didn't want children _floating all over the place_, before hurrying them all out.

As he and Grandpa Joe were the last to leave, and there was no one else to see, the older man had suggested they try some of the juice, and Charlie had agreed. Quickly they had popped the lid off of one of the bottles, and sipped at the fizzy liquid inside. It tasted wonderful – like no other drink they had ever had before.

At first they thought it wasn't going to do anything. Then, suddenly, they found themselves rising into the sky. It was a decidedly strange sensation, floating off without any control whatsoever. Charlie wondered if this was a bit like how it would feel like to be a helium balloon – going up and up until you hit a ceiling.

Clinging to a handy bar, with Charlie clutching his leg, Grandpa had commented '_Mr Wonka isn't going to like this_!' Charlie had no arguments with that observation. The only problem was, they had no idea just how little he would like it – and they weren't going to find out his thoughts on the matter for quite some time yet...

What followed was one of the most scary and somehow most exhilarating experiences of Charlie's life – especially when they hit off the ceiling of the tower, avoided being pulled through the fan, and struggled to get down again. Once they'd got over the sensation of somehow being able to overcome gravity the going up had been great. Until Charlie had realised they were going too high that was. He'd felt like a bird, and had loved his Grandfathers suggestion migrating for the winter. Still, it had been a real relief when his feet had touched the ground again.

That was probably one of their biggest mistakes. Taking a drink that they knew would let them fly, without knowing how to control how high they went was a pretty silly thing to do. Thankfully, when they were in danger of being caught by the fan, Grandpa Joe had discovered that you could start to descend by burping.

This was the first time in record that Charlie could remember Grandpa Joe making a suggestion that led him into doing something wrong, and as they hurried from the room both agreed that they wouldn't try that kind of thing ever again. Mr Wonka clearly had good reasons when he decided not to let them try something.

When they caught up with the others they found them in a room with huge geese, who were laying huge golden eggs. As they arrived Mr Wonka was just assuring everyone that the geese were actually doing what it looked like. He explained that they had to as '_I haven't met the Oompa Loompa yet who could do it_.' Charlie had to give it to him; it seemed highly unlikely that any Oompa Loompa would be able to lay an egg, never mind anything the size of the ones these Quadruple sized birds were laying. Mr Wonka casually mentioned the eggs were actually '_Octuple_' sized! Even if they had managed that, any eggs they might have been able to produce would certainly not be made of golden chocolate.

It was in this room that Veruca went off on one of her 'I want' fits again, causing Charlie to comment '_here we go again_' to his Grandfather – that girl really would benefit from a spanking. This time though, when her father had asked what the price was, Mr Wonka plainly told him that the geese weren't for sale. He even went as far as to say '_she can't have one_' when her father tried to insist that Mr Wonka would be willing to sell him a goose, if enough money was offered. The result? Veruca went into a temper tantrum, demanding all sorts of things, with her father trying to placate her by agreeing that she could have it all – later.

Of course, Miss 'I want' had wanted them '_now_' to which the father had no response. That man was really starting to confuse Charlie – when Mr Wonka had said No to the sale, Veruca had demanded '_who said I can't?_' and her father's response had been '_the man with the funny hat_.' Once again Charlie wondered at the depths that Veruca's father would go to – he had proven long before that he knew Mr Wonka's name, therefore he was just being rude.

Charlie did have to admit to himself that Mr Salt had just had another taste of Mr Wonka's humour again, as he'd told Mr Wonka that his geese were '_a load of nonsense_' and Charlie had only just caught Mr Wonka singing a quiet retort about '_a little nonsense now and then_' being '_relished by the wisest men_' into his ear.

Charlie imagined that this comment, and possibly irritation at his darling daughter being denied anything she indicated a fancy for, was what had raised his ire so much. The comment seemed to imply that Mr Wonka didn't think he had any wisdom. Given all, Charlie thought he was quite right about that, though once again, he'd never have given voice to any such opinion. Besides which, even if Mr Salt was annoyed by Mr Wonka's response it wasn't like he hadn't asked for it, given his continuing rude behaviour.

Charlie's musing on the way the girl's father was acting didn't solve the problem of Veruca unfortunately. It seemed that she must have never experienced being told 'no' until now, as she proceeded to run over the whole room, destroying things. The Oompa Loompa's looked at her in horror, holding onto the eggs they were working on protectively. This action came a mite too late truth be told, as she'd already thrown one up into the air and caught it again before placing it back on the table.

Once again, Mr Wonka seemed to studiously ignore her, covering his eyes as she created havoc in the room and doing nothing to interfere with her wild behaviour. He even looked off towards one of the geese, when she suddenly presented herself in front of him, demanding he throw her balls and parties. Veruca didn't seem to notice this, merely elbowing her father in the gut when he came up behind her and tried to explain she could have these things '_later_.' It would seem that 'later' wasn't good enough for Miss Veruca anymore...

Charlie was becoming more and more certain that Mr Wonka best dealt with conflict, and people doing things they shouldn't, by ignoring them and pretending he couldn't see what was happening. Maybe he had a childlike, if I can't see it; it's not there mindset to this kind of thing.

Now Veruca was threatening to push a trolley into a stack of colourful boxes waiting to be filled with eggs. The Oompa Loompa's were hovering around anxiously, in a half attempt to catch it before it hit the boxes, but they didn't get there in time and more mayhem was created in the room. In some ways Charlie was relieved they hadn't caught it – Veruca had put some force into that push and they might well have been knocked over, or possibly even injured by the trolley if they had caught it.

Next thing they knew Veruca climbed onto an eggdicator – the machines which told whether the newly laid eggs were worth selling or not – and stood there for a few seconds. A moment or so later the machine made the same sound they'd heard when an egg that didn't pass the inspection had landed on it and Veruca disappeared off down the garbage chute – quickly followed by her father. The man had taken another pop or three at Mr Wonka after his daughter disappeared, and having heard that she might have got stuck in the tube leading to the furnace (rather than being _sizzled like a sausage) _he had taken a run at one of the machines, before diving down it head first.

Charlie had thought him this was a little silly, if Veruca had really got stuck inside Mr Salt was hardly going to get through any easier, given he was about three times her size! Charlie asked Mr Wonka if they'd really end up in a furnace, and was told they had a good sporting chance as that particular furnace was only lit every other day... Charlie sighed in relief, knowing that this response meant it was just more of the man's showmanship coming out...

The Oompa Loompa's present in the room, who had been clearing up after the silly girl, began to sing about how awful it was for a child to be spoilt by their parents. Charlie thought it was a shame to call a cat spoilt though; Veruca was spoilt far worse than any animal could ever be! He certainly agreed that she was a brat however.

It struck Charlie as they walked out of the room that Mr Wonka hadn't actually tried to get Veruca to stop what she was doing as he had with the others. Maybe she was making so much noise at the time that he didn't think there was any point in wasting his breath again – Veruca wouldn't hear him, never mind do as he asked. Or maybe it was simply the fact her father was making an attempt at controlling her. That was one of the reasons he was there after all.

Next it was time for a ride on the Wonkamobile. This was Charlie's most favourite form of transport in the whole factory. It ran on fizzy juice, and when it was full enough foam came spluttering from every possible opening, liberally covering those who were travelling on it. Charlie and Grandpa Joe had the best time, splattering each other with the stuff, while Mr Wonka sang to himself, ignoring the bubbling mixture which soon covered him and the 'Teevee's' complained about how messy they were getting.

What was even better was the clean up system. One moment they were covered in goo from head to toe, and the next they went through a tall thin structure which was standing over the track like a small bridge, and suddenly all the mess was cleaned off of everyone, to the point you would have never known it existed. Mrs Teevee commented in shock that she'd _been dry-cleaned_.

Given she'd been shouting about sending Mr Wonka the cleaning bill, Charlie decided that was just as well. Charlie thought his outfit was cleaner than it had been at the start of the day, and Grandpa apparently thought it was the best bath he'd had in a long time. As Charlie was asking his Grandpa what on earth they had just passed through Mr Wonka turned round and told them it was called Wonkawash. At first though, he gave them the name backwards: Hsawaknow, though it sounded more like Ha-sa-wa-ka-noo, causing Mrs Teevee to question whether he was now speaking in Japanese. Charlie could see how she might think it possible.

Getting off of the machine Charlie had asked Mr Wonka if they could go on it again, but got no response. Sighing he realised that this was just another part of the unique bundle of reactions which made the strange man up. Maybe he just didn't like saying 'no' to such simple questions, or maybe he wasn't sure what the answer would be. Still, given that was the first question he had asked that Mr Wonka hadn't answered promptly he knew he should count himself lucky!


	8. Inside the Factory - End of the tour

Charlie didn't think he'd ever forget the next room... They had to put special protective clothing on before entering – having been given a warning about there being '_dangerous stuff inside_.' Once they were all safely inside Mr Wonka sent a chocolate bar (one so big it reminded Charlie of the size of a mattress from a single bed) across the room 'by Wonkavision.' It turned up on a small TV screen across the room, at regular size.

With encouragement from Mr Wonka, Charlie picked it up and had a taste – it was a perfect chocolate bar. Next thing they knew Mike had jumped up onto the set, pressed a button, and sent himself in the same way the bar had been sent. It had taken some time for it to happen, but he eventually turned up in the TV screen about the size of a borrower. Charlie had read some of the books while at school, and the reality of Mike's new size convinced him as to the possibility of their existence.

Mr Wonka had tried to tell Mike not to try the adventure, but once again his tone suggested he could be ignored. Maybe he knew that there was no way Mike would be deterred; the boy was far too obsessed with TV for that. Mike was soon taken off to be stretched, with his fainting mother being dragged along behind. As they disappeared, they heard the sound of another Oompa Loompa song, this one about how lazy someone who did nothing but watch TV was – because of all the advert breaks! The Oompa Loompa's recommended books as a better alternative to ending up with '_an IQ of 3._'

Charlie had got the impression during the course of the tour that Mr Wonka wasn't particularly fond of Mike. Not that he could fault the man for that, given his first physical impression of the boy was of a metal toy gun being jabbed into his stomach. He was the one more often than not who had his questions ignored. He was also told to speak up, to open his mouth wider, to stop mumbling, or that Mr Wonka was deaf in one ear...

These random comments were some of the few things that Mr Wonka said to the boy individually, and never lead to any clarification of the subject he was being asked about. Having said that, some of the questions Mike had asked were definitely encroaching on 'finding out about Mr Wonka's secrets,' so no wonder the man hadn't answered them!

Still, Mr Wonka had more than made up for his lack of attention in this last room, with his stating that he believed he could transport a person by TV leading directly to the foolish boys action of jumping onto the platform and pressing the 'transmit' button. Did this make Mr Wonka or Mike more responsible for what had happened to him? Would it have been justifiable for Mr Wonka to tell an untruth in this instance? And would Mike be OK? Charlie had heard something about him being sent off to a taffy pulling machine – whatever that might be.

Now all there was left of the originally rather large group was Charlie, Grandpa Joe, and Mr Wonka himself. The latter ignored the others, and quickly went into his office muttering about bills and letters and something about remembering to respond to a message from the queen. The experience that was to follow was probably the worst Charlie could remember since losing his father so many years before.

Charlie now understood that both his Grandpa Joe and Mr Wonka were reacting from disappointment. Grandpa Joe felt that Mr Wonka had rather arbitrarily refused to give them the chocolate they'd been promised and that he'd lost a hero. Mr Wonka must have believed that he'd misjudged Charlie, and that he and Grandpa Joe had stolen from him. Hindsight also showed that he would feel that his hopes that this day would produce someone he could pass the factory onto had failed, with none of the winners living up to the high standards required.

In his eyes, the day had been wasted – and produced ten times more work to get things cleared up so the production of sweet treats and nice things for people to purchase could continue. And he had all of the frustration brought on by the horrible way the other visitors had acted to deal with. Charlie couldn't decide whether the misbehaviour of the children or the downright rude and demeaning attitudes of their parents was worse.

Thinking back over the events of the day, Charlie admitted that the man had every right to be utterly furious. Even if he and his Granddad weren't the only ones who had earned his vehement exclamations; they were the only ones who were available at the time for him to vent at. It may not have been right, but it was human, and Charlie knew that however much he might look up to Mr Wonka, his hero was only human.

After some discussion about why they might have just been so summarily dismissed by the man, Grandpa decided he should go and find out. Quickly opening the office door Grandpa walked over to the desk where Mr Wonka was sitting writing a letter. Finally close enough to speak, he asked Mr Wonka about the lifetime supply of chocolate Charlie had won, and had been flatly repulsed as they _'broke the rules_' during the tour. Or so Mr Wonka had ground out, obviously struggling to keep calm at this violation of his peaceful haven.

When Grandpa angrily exclaimed that they hadn't seen any rules Mr Wonka had grown angry in his own turn, and it had snowballed into a shouting match between the two men. As he yelled at Grandpa, Mr Wonka occasionally turned round to include Charlie, who had curiously followed his Grandfather into the office, in his rant as well. He had furiously explained that the fact they had stolen fizzy lifting juice, and the fact they had bumped into the ceiling meant that it would now have to be washed and sterilized. Just how they would manage to achieve this, Charlie wasn't really sure. He was also rather shaken when he realised that for the first time in his life he had actually stolen something. He would never have thought he could become a thief.

On entering the office, Charlie had been amazed at the way that everything except for the jacket and hat Mr Wonka had worn during the tour was split in half right the way down the middle. Despite his shock, he had gleefully noted that Mr Wonka had actually gone to half a file cabinet, opened the half door, and pulled out a '_photostatic copy_' of the contract Charlie had signed at the start of the tour to prove his point. Charlie could have picked the contract up from the open side of the shelf if he'd wanted to. He could hardly understand how everything managed to remain upright with half their legs cut off – it all seemed to be a very strange balancing act.

In the sudden silence of the office at the end of Mr Wonka's rant, Charlie became overwhelmed by confusion. He had experienced so many different emotions during the course of the day, and seen so many things which exceeded the bounds of his imagination that he was struggling to take everything in. Now, having had the results of one random act of stupidity yelled at him with passion, Charlie simply didn't know what to think.

The shock of being shouted at had been stunning in its own right; the results of his actions were mindboggling though. All that work, simply because he'd had a sip of an experimental drink? He admitted that it had been a thoughtless and stupid thing to do, and if he could have done it all again he would have avoided the situation, but... He hadn't had the slightest idea of the consequences of his actions. Charlie knew he'd let the man down just as much as the other children had. But why hadn't Mr Wonka stayed to make sure they weren't tempted?

This was another thing which confused him about the man; Charlie continued to think as his angry Grandfather started to respond to Mr Wonka's claims. If he knew they hadn't left the room with the others, why had Mr Wonka ignored the fact and simply carried on with the tour? Didn't that implicate him in their misadventure as much as in the mistakes the other children had made? If Mr Wonka had told them not to, surely they'd have gone with him. And yet, deep down inside, Charlie had to admit Mr Wonka had told them not to, when he'd been explaining to the other kids why they weren't allowed to try some.

Charlie had been given many other opportunities to try something, why did he have to decide to drink something when it was clearly not allowed? OK, Grandpa had made the suggestion, and he had been very excited, but he couldn't place all the blame on Grandpa. He'd had the chance to say 'no' and he hadn't. He was very much at fault and as he looked at the disappointment and fury in Mr Wonka's eyes, the reality of all he'd done hit home. Charlie was so disappointed in himself.

Charlie was just starting to process all that had been said by the two men when Grandpa Joe dragged him from the room with the sound of Mr Wonka's last angry retort _'I Said Good Day_,' ringing in his ears. It seemed that Mr Wonka had decided against using a quote to hide his feelings this time and was letting them actually see how he was feeling about what was happening. Not that this was too surprising, there weren't all that many quotes one could fall back on when someone called you an '_inhuman monster_' really, were there? And he had already ended up shouting – this was the first time Charlie had heard him shout, no matter what the provocation. Maybe his quotes were only useful when he was still calm enough to talk. Or maybe he had to be calm so that he could think of a fitting quote.

Charlie was just thinking about how he would have to write an apology when he got home to send through the letter box, as he did with the home made Christmas card he sent each year, when Grandpa had muttered something about "_if Slugworth wants a gobstopper he'll get one."_

This caused Charlie to pause, feeling his Grandpa might be going off on the wrong track again, pulled by his emotions – it felt too similar to what Violet's father had said as he was escorted from the inventing room. Even if Grandpa Joe was reacting from the way he felt Mr Wonka had disappointed Charlie's hopes and Violet's father had been more interested in the results of the wrong Violet had done... But weren't they the same thing – Charlie had lost out on the chocolate because he had done something he knew to be wrong.

Either way Charlie knew he couldn't give the gobstopper to Slugworth – he would never have done so, but now he wouldn't be able to enjoy it either. If he kept it, the gobstopper would remind him of the horrible end to this day, the loss of all his hopes of having a wonderful day and seeing the factory as a friendly face in the years to come.

Charlie struggled to hold back the tears when he realised just how much his life would change, no longer being able to look on the factory with such joy as before. In some ways, Charlie wished he'd never found the golden ticket – the thing which had started off by bringing such joy had finished up by spoiling everything. He could never hold onto a memento like the gobstopper now – he didn't want to remember the day any more. The sooner he could forget about it the better. And here Charlie found the first step of his apology. He would do this now, and could focus on what best to write in his letter once he got home again. Mom and his other three grandparents would be so disappointed, but he could worry about that later.

While he was still thinking of this, he became aware of Grandpa Joe trying to lead him out of the office. He stayed where he was, letting his Grandpa's hand brush off of his arm, before he slowly turned round and resolutely walked back to the desk, leaving Grandpa Joe to stare at him in wonder. Gathering up his courage, Charlie pulled the man's attention to himself by quietly speaking his name, before placing the gobstopper on his desk. Then he turned around and quickly headed back out of the office – barely noticing the way Mr Wonka's pen stopped at his action, or the murmured quote about a _good deed in a weary world_ being _shy_.

Next thing, in a far gentler voice, Mr Wonka called his name, spinning round in his chair as he did so. Love shining from his eyes the man told him he'd won, getting more excited by the moment, telling Charlie that he knew he'd do it, before picking him up and spinning him round in a circle in his joy. Things moved so quickly that Charlie hardly had time to process the feeling of disbelief at Mr Wonka's sudden change of manner. Apparently handing over the gobstopper was the key to everything. Maybe if Grandpa hadn't insisted on Mr Wonka giving him one in the first place, or if he'd mentioned what Mr Slugworth had asked of him, in a gesture of good faith, Mr Wonka wouldn't have had to yell at them.

The next shock came soon after when a Mr Wilkinson came into the room. Charlie recognised him as the man who had called himself Slugworth, but Mr Wonka told him that it had all been part of the test, the man actually worked for him. It was soon after this, as Mr Wonka continued to make exclamations of apology and congratulations that Charlie finally realised that he wasn't imagining this sudden change in the man before him, this was actually happening.

Then Mr Wonka pulled him and Grandpa Joe off into a glass structure he called a Wonkavator. It went every direction imaginable – up and down like an elevator, but also sideways, slantways, back ways, front ways, and apparently long ways and square ways. It could go to every single room in the whole factory at the touch of a button, and Mr Wonka had pressed every button except one of them, which he asked Charlie to push.

When Charlie pressed the button he was told to it picked up unimaginable speed in a few seconds. Mr Wonka scared him slightly, both by stating that this wasn't fast enough and they'd _never get through_, and when he agreed with Grandpa Joe they would '_probably_' be _cut to ribbons_ on the way out. Charlie could see a glimpse of the showman peeking out again here; it seemed that Mr Wonka was recovering himself again now. The button he had pressed was known as '_up and out'_ apparently, and as well as the Wonkavator being made of glass, the roof was too. What Charlie didn't know was that it was armouring itself as they went, developing a round metal structure around its sides, and a spike on top. It was the latter that protected them as they smashed through the roof.

It was while they were flying through the air that Mr Wonka made the most astonishing statement ever. After asking how he liked the factory – Charlie of course responded that it was _the best place in the whole world_; Mr Wonka told him he was _very happy to hear_ this. Then Mr Wonka told him the most astonishing thing Charlie had ever heard. The reason for the older man's pleasure about how much Charlie had liked the factory was that Mr Wonka wanted to give it to him – to live there with his whole family, and to inherit it when the older man left.

This was when Charlie discovered his second favourite fact about Mr Wonka... As well as having wonderfully loving eyes – most of the time at least, Mr Wonka gave the best hugs Charlie had ever experienced. They just seemed to wrap him all up and fill him with comfort – the scent of the chocolate which spread such pleasure inside him permeating the man's clothing and hair, and the wonderful pressure of the man's arms as they both held him gently to him, and made him feel amazingly secure.

Having missed out on his father's love for so long, Charlie knew he was going to adopt Mr Wonka as family. The man would never be his father, that was impossible, but given he was going to live at the factory now; he was certainly going to be looked on as a beloved adopted uncle. Given all, Charlie hoped that the man wouldn't leave too soon...


	9. The Continuing Story - Moving In

So... Here once again. This is where we diverge from the film, so hopefully it manages to live up to what went before. I've tried to continue Willy inhis habit of quoting people, though I think he's doing it in a different way this time. Please forgive me if the quotes are post 1971 or so!

Also - thanks to LilSnowFairy for the review.

If you recognise it from somewhere else, it doesn't belong to me...

* * *

The continuing story

The Great Glass Wonkavator had hung in the sky for some time after that, with the three occupants hardly saying a word. This time was needed to simply relish the beauty of the surrounding scenery, and take in everything which had been said already. Everyone seemed to be aware that the time for more talk would come later on. Eventually, however, Mr Wonka had decided that it was time for them to go and break the news to the rest of the family. This would be the first hurdle on the way to making his promise to Charlie a reality.

He skilfully guided the Wonkavator down until it landed next to Charlie's home, and Wonka blinked, both at the fact that the small wooden building was practically just outside the factory gates, and at how tiny it actually was. Charlie's family would probably have huge issues with the idea of the luxury he was about to invite them into. Wonka knew at that moment that he'd have to be extremely honest with them all – not just that, as transparent as he could make himself be.

With this thought he spoke quietly to Charlie. "I know you're excited Charlie, but maybe I'd better break the news to them at first – I get the impression that they'll struggle to believe you otherwise." Charlie looked up into those quiet compassionate eyes as they surveyed his home, suddenly feeling like Mr Wonka could see right through him. It was quite an uncomfortable sensation. When the older man put a gentle hand on his shoulder he began to relax a little, and when Grandpa Joe then agreed that this might be the best thing the boy nodded at them, signalling his acceptance.

So, with Mr Wonka in the lead the small group of three walked the short distance between the Wonkavator and Charlie's home. Grandpa Joe opened the door and ushered the taller gentleman in, to the sounds of exclamations of delight and questions as to how the experience had been. Charlie followed along, hardly managing to control his excitement.

Seeing how worked up he was, Grandma Josephine called him to join her on the bed, and gave him a soothing hug. Meanwhile his Mom had urged Grandpa Joe and Mr Wonka to have a seat at the table. There was silence as the distinguished visitor (everyone knew exactly who he had to be) worked out the best way to phrase what he had to say.

"Mrs Bucket, dear lady, everyone... I'm delighted to tell you that despite a few bumps along the way, the tour of the chocolate factory was a complete success!" Charlie giggled into his Grandmothers arm at the thought of some of those 'bumps.' He couldn't imagine what Veruca, or Violet's father, would think of being referred to as a 'bump.'

"You have a wonderful little boy in Charlie, and he more than lived up to my expectations of any of my guests – unlike many of the others who joined us. This is so much the case, that Charlie has won a prize which exceeds anything he could have imagined on any of the days he spent longing to find a ticket." This statement earned Charlie another warm hug from his Grandma, and expressions of delight from the other occupants of the room, before the idea of something more than they had been promised on the ticket hit them all and they stopped, gazing at the man in wonder. "Something better than the ticket said he'd won?" Grandma Georgina asked in surprise. "What more could you give him? He's already toured the factory, and been granted a lifetime supply of chocolate. Surely there can't be anything else!"

Mr Wonka had stood up from his seat, and wandered round the bed, until he reached the side where Grandma Georgina was sitting. Gently he reached out and touched her hand. "My very dear lady," he started "Charlie has won everything." He stated. "And by everything," he swept on, holding up his remaining hand to silence the sounds of confusion which were now coming from the rest of Charlie's family, "I mean that I have found the treasure I was hoping to find when I sent out the golden tickets, and intend, with your permission, to make Charlie my apprentice, to prepare him to run the factory when I can no longer do so, and to invite you all to come and live inside its very walls!"

This statement caused a profound silence to fall upon the household, and soon the only sound was of Charlie's Mom, who was now sobbing into her hands as if she were heartbroken.

Charlie jumped up and ran to her, giving her a quick hug. "What's wrong Mom?" he begged her in concern. "Mr Wonka didn't say I had to go and leave you all! He said you could come too!"

Wiping her tear stained face, Charlie's Mom looked up. "I know sweetheart," she told him, swallowing down her cries. "It's just I'm so relieved at the offer." She explained. Grandpa Joe came and put a hand on his shoulder, before steering him away, back towards the bed. "Your Mom has worked so hard for so long Charlie, just like yourself." He explained quietly. "I don't think any of us realised just how worn out she has become." He paused and looked at his daughter-in-law with growing concern.

"Sometimes, when a person is so exhausted, the very idea that they might be able to rest a bit makes them lose their composure." The older man turned to look at his now restored hero for a few minutes before returning his attention to the now more quietly weeping woman continuing. "I think the first thing on the cards for you Ellie, is a complete break – as soon as we get you all inside the factory." Then he paused a moment, looking back to Wonka. "That's, if it's alright with you, Mr Wonka" he finished more hesitantly.

"_To_ _accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe_. (Anatole France)" said Mr Wonka quietly. "For the moment, however, I think it is probably best if you would all gather the things which are most precious to you, and we shall see you aboard the Wonkavator which will take us all back to the factory. Then, while you are all settling in, I can have Mr Wilkinson come and collect the remainder of your things for you."

It was with great joy that Charlie watched as his three grandparents were assisted from the bed they had lived in for so many years, and saw that they were all warmly clothed. Mr Wonka put a great deal of effort into helping with these gradual changes, and once each had their few most precious items gathered he assisted each one of them out to a seat in the Wonkavator.

This time the contraption was so crowded that Charlie ended up sitting on the floor, while his poor mother stood next to him, holding firmly onto one of the holding straps which hung down into the upper air space. Mr Wonka stood on the other side of him, closest to where the control buttons were, and quickly guided it back through the hole in the roof, before pressing the button which would take them to the residential quarters – mindful that such a cramped journey could not be particularly enjoyable for anyone.

Mr Wonka had quickly selected a suite of rooms for them all, and had made sure to equip all the grandparents with electronic wheelchairs – pointing out that this would make them far more independent, and make life far easier for Ellie. Everyone was exclaiming about how much room they now had. After living 4 to a bed, with two others also living in a relatively confined space, each couple having their own room seemed like a huge amount of space.

They were to be housed in the Mint Mountain Range Suite. Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina were in the Peppermint Room, Grandpa Joe and Grandma Josephine were in the Spearmint Room, Mom was in the Buttermint Room, and Charlie was in the Chocolate-Mint Room. The living room was dedicated to mint of all kinds – and had plants in it which his Mom could rub gently as she passed them, releasing the fragrance into the air. Each of the rooms had its own en-suite bathroom, leaving the only other room in their apartment as a kitchen come dining room.

Mr Wonka had explained that they were to feel free to eat in the flat, but that his suite of rooms was just round the corner, and just along the corridor there was a communal kitchen if they ever felt like taking a chance on sharing food with him and Mr Wilkenson if they should be around at the same time. Two floors down there was also a canteen, where all the Oompa Loompa's ate, but many of the combinations could be on the strange side.

Then, leaving Grandpa Joe to explain about all of their adventures, Mr Wonka had begged to borrow Charlie as he went and completed the rest of the chores for the day. After seeing how much her son loved the other man already, Ellie had said yes, of course he could keep Charlie with him. She supposed that Charlie would be spending quite a lot of time with Mr Wonka now, so why shouldn't he start early.

Quickly Mr Wonka had lead Charlie back to the Wonkavator, and showed him which button would return them to the inventing room. "I really need to see how the various changes in there are shaping up." He explained quietly. "But while your assistance in this matter and everything else we end up doing today will be appreciated, my chief reason for borrowing you is that I believe we will both benefit from spending a bit of time together. Time without everyone else around I mean. I often find other people can complicate the process of getting to know another person properly."

Charlie smiled at him, swiftly giving him another hug. "Mr Wonka..." he responded... "If you knew how much I look up to you, you would know that there doesn't have to be an excuse made for me to spend time with you. I'll love to help you with anything that needs doing, but it's a real treat to spend any time in your presence. Well, as long as you're not shouting at me that is!" he quickly amended. Then Charlie laughed before finishing... "You know, I think you're going to have more trouble keeping me away, than spending time with me!" he stated with a cheeky little grin.

Willy looked down at the transparently honest boy with a gentle smile, filing that information away for later thought and discussion. "I'm thinking it's time you were a little less formal with me Charlie." He stated quietly, dealing with the issue he believed was more important at that moment. "Now, let me see, what can you call me?" he ruminated almost to himself. "What about Willy?" He looked at the boys face, but the expression on it proved that this was several steps too far for him at that point. "No, that doesn't seem right." He paused a moment, as a smile of relief passed over Charlie's face. "I know!" he exclaimed a minute later. "What about plain 'Wonka?' It's not too informal I don't think, but it doesn't cause the distance that referring to someone as 'Mr' all the time does. While you're to be my apprentice, I'd rather not have such formality in my home all the time." He explained.

By this stage they had arrived at the inventing room. Willy quickly unlocked the door, which had automatically refastened itself once they were all safely inside earlier on in the day. Charlie paused a minute and grabbed him by the arm. "Mr... I mean Wonka?" he called, pulling the Chocolatier's attention to himself. Willy, who had paused the moment he felt Charlie's hand on his wrist, smiled at the boy quietly before asking "What is it Charlie?"

Silently the boy pointed to the label of the store room. As Willy continued to gaze at him without speaking, Charlie eventually put his thoughts into words. "I don't get the hair cream. Does it look like hair or something?"

Willy put his free arm around Charlie's shoulder, causing the boy to let go of his wrist. "Not quite Charlie" he admitted, "but that's a good guess." Then he continued on to explain. "My hair cream is a special blend which is supposed to make hair a bit more manageable. It has never done very much for me personally, but I know several people who swear by it." Then, before Charlie could give voice to his growing confusion Willy continued. "They also say it tastes great, which is a bonus when compared to the various gels and mousses you have to apply to the hair." He finished, pulling his fingers through his own riotous mop which he had sorted with a mousse earlier on in the day and now fell in a shambles down around his ears.

Then, as his new apprentice seemed to be continuing to ponder all he had heard, Willy gently guided him back inside the inventing room. The Oompa Loompa's had been busy! While Willy and the others had finished touring the factory, and then gone to fetch Charlie's family, they had been bustling about the room, restoring it to its natural pristine state.

The first thing that Charlie noticed was that some of the containers he had spotted the first time were no longer in the room. While it was still a hive of activity, the rack of pots and pans which Mike had banged into when he tried the exploding candy had disappeared, as had the three huge tubs Mr Wonka had put clothing and other strange items into. "I knew you were pulling our legs!" Charlie exclaimed without thinking about it.

"Oh?" Willy asked quietly, causing Charlie to blush. "Sorry... I just noticed the tub you put the clock into, and the ones you put the trainers and coat into had vanished." Charlie explained. "I didn't think you would really put such things in candy bars and the like, so thought you were possibly aiming to confuse everyone with them. It seems I might have been right." came the reasoning. "Bright boy!" replied Wonka before heading off in the direction of the exit to the inventing room.


	10. The Continuing Story- Candy Explorations

Charlie followed along willingly, until he saw Wonka slipping through the entrance to the room where the Fizzy Lifting Juice was produced. There was no way he was going in there ever again. That being the case he stood to the side of the room, waiting for his mentor to emerge again. It didn't take long, as Willy very quickly realised that he was on his own. Still, by the time he exited the room again Charlie was huddled up into a ball on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"What's up Charlie?" Wonka asked compassionately. He had some idea of what this was about, but he felt it would do the boy good to verbalise some of it. Charlie looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "I just don't think I can do it." He responded quietly. Of course, if he thought that would satisfy Wonka he would have to think again. "Do what?" came the gently exhorting question. Of course, the answer when it came was just as brief and to the point. "Go into that room again."

Wonka sat down on the floor beside Charlie, and gently wrapped an arm around him. The boy leant into his side, seeking comfort from the touch of the older man. After a while Wonka spoke again. "A wise man once said that if you "_Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, your fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free._ (Jim Morrison)" I like to think that he's right." Charlie looked at him in confusion, slowly trying to work out what his mentor was getting at.

The silence only lasted a few minutes before Wonka explained further. "It means, Charlie, that if you do the thing you are frightened of, you learn that it isn't as scary as you thought it was, and soon you can do it without being afraid." Charlie looked at him quietly, thinking about it for a little longer. When he responded it was in the voice of an offended child. "I'm not afraid!" he pointed out quickly.

Wonka smiled at him gently, giving the boy a little squeeze with the arm which was wrapped around him. "I think you are Charlie." He replied sympathetically. "I think you're worried that if you go into that room again I'll get angry with you and shout at you again. Maybe you fear that I'll take the factory away from you again." As he saw the sheer terror on Charlie's face, Wonka quickly reached over and slid the arm which was further away from him beneath the boy's knees, before gently lifting him and placing him on his lap. Then he simply held Charlie to him, carefully rubbing his back until he calmed down a bit.

When he next spoke it was slowly. Looking into Charlie's eyes, so he could detect every minute reaction to his words, he quietly explained his plans for the future in regards to the Fizzy Lifting Juice room. Charlie obviously struggled to believe him, but eventually he let his shoulders slump, obviously unable to fight against Wonka's gentle reasoning any further. Of course it was perfectly straight forwards that someone who had already experienced the effects of Fizzy Lifting Juice would be the best candidate to help Wonka work out how to reduce the potency of the mix.

Finally Charlie nodded his head in agreement, and with a little help from Wonka he stood up again. Willy bounded to his feet before taking the boy by the hand and leading him into the room filled with bubbles. Charlie was so busy concentrating on what had been said that he didn't even notice what Wonka was doing until they were practically in the middle of the bubble filled room.

When he did eventually realise where he was, it was because he noticed the Oompa Loompa's who were hard at work. Two or three of them had strange contraptions on their backs which were spouting steam, and had apparently had a sip of the juice as they were gently descending from the top of the tower. Wonka's voice broke into his thoughts "We won't test it again tonight Charlie, but I'm hoping you'll be able to talk over possible ways of making the effects of the drink less powerful. My vision is for the drinker to raise about three inches off of the ground at most and bob along at that height."

Charlie looked at him, and frowned thoughtfully. "It sounds like you want to try diluting it – like you do with drinks that are so strongly flavoured that they taste disgusting unless you add lots of water to them."

Wonka looked at him and smiled. "Perfect thought Charlie!" he exclaimed. "If we up the snozberry concentration it would taste disgusting without the addition of more liquid. Two inches of juice in the bottom of each bottle, and top up with water. If we get the flavourings right we might be ready for marketing in about 6 months time."

He glanced up at the Oompa Loompa's who were now almost back at the bottom of the tower, having carried out the job of cleaning and sterilizing it. "Paddy?" Wonka called out to one of them. When the small man reported to him Wonka smiled. "Thank you for coming so quickly my friend." He acknowledged quietly. "This is my new apprentice Charlie. Did you hear his suggestions regarding the fizzy lifting drinks?"

Paddy nodded at Charlie, smiling politely at him before returning to Wonka. "You wish me to make a note of his ideas for experimenting with in the morning?" he questioned quickly. Wonka returned his smile. "Exactly my friend, exactly. We can start by taking a small sample of the juice and some Snozberry concentrate and see if we can get the correct mix for a diluting style drink. Then we can work out the ratio of water to juice so we can bottle it all up in the correct measures for distribution. It might take some work to get the various concentrations correct, but if we can manage it we may well come up with something eminently marketable."

Paddy smiled at his employer. Wonka so loved it when one of his stalled inventions came to a point where it could move forwards again. He would be as excited as a child given free run of a candy store when it came to experimenting time the following day. "I will make sure we have the planned tests written up for you, and all the usual experiment equipment on standby." To tell the truth, as Paddy had been working with the lifting juice for several years now he was also quite excited about the possibility of a way forward having been found for it.

"So much time, so little to do!" Wonka commented hurriedly. Then he smiled down at Charlie, hearing him finish off the phrase for him. "Strike that, reverse it!" came the younger voice. "Indeed Charlie, indeed. Now we must return to the Chocolate Room!" He informed the boy. "Once the Wonkatania was safely grounded the river was drained in the wake of Augustus' little adventure. Now the river bed and the various pipes have been sterilized I need to be there to supervise the waterfall starting up again."

Charlie looked at him quietly. "How are we getting to the chocolate room Wonka?" he asked. Wonka smiled. Well Charlie, I think we might have to travel through the tunnels to your left. We'll emerge where you saw the Oompa Loompa's dealing with creaming and sugaring the river." Wonka paused for a moment before he continued on. "But tell me Charlie, are you not curious about why the river had to be drained?" he asked, curious himself about the lack of interest on this subject.

Charlie looked up at his mentor quizzically. "I thought that the chocolate in the river was used in your candy bars." He challenged lightly. Wonka smiled at him. "That's true. What about it?" Wonka responded. Now Charlie began to look rather confused. "I thought that anything which is to be sold to the general public had to be kept free of anything nasty which might hurt them. I wouldn't want to eat Augustus flavoured chocolate." He responded, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the very idea. Willy looked at him appraisingly. "Perfect answer." He announced with an even bigger smile.

Charlie continued to frown however, and Wonka paused beside him, before crouching down a little, until he was at eye level. The minutes stretched on slowly, while the boy pondered whatever question he was considering. Wonka adjusted his posture slightly to make it a little more comfortable, just waiting for whatever Charlie might have to say when he was ready to do so.

Finally Wonka shifted a little more violently than before and Charlie looked up, startled. Wonka smiled at his apprentice, before deciding that he would have to ask him. "Alright Charlie, tell me what you were thinking about just there." Charlie looked at him, obviously still not sure about what he was thinking. "Just tell me Charlie." Wonka encouraged gently. "There can be no mistakes in being unsure and asking a question. I'm not going to get angry with you and tell you that you're wrong. I'll simply explain what's really going on."

Finally Charlie responded. "It's just... I'm sure you said that almost everything we could see in the Chocolate room was edible. Does that include the grass and pathways?" he asked. Willy smiled at him. "Excellent question Charlie, and the answer is yes. The path is made of chocolate gravel, and the grass is a very fine type of jelly sweet in some areas, green candy floss in others, and sugar green laces in the last. Sometimes I go for a wander round the room and grab a small handful of either grass or gravel to eat as I ponder the latest question from the inventing room. You should feel free to do the same."

Charlie smiled up at Wonka while he was talking, but now the Chocolatier had finished his explanation he was frowning again. His eyes sparkling affectionately Wonka prodded a little further. "Come on you, out with it!" he stated firmly. Charlie sighed. "I don't want to sound stupid." He admitted quietly. Wonka crossed his arms and frowned portentously. "Someone called Emerson once said "_It is one of the blessings of friends that you can afford to be stupid with them_." Now... I'm not saying that what you have to say will sound stupid, I highly doubt it, but if it was to turn out that way I'm a safe person to say it to. I'm your Mentor and I will never laugh at anything you say."

Willy paused and looked at the ground, feeling unsure whether he was getting through to Charlie or not. In the end he looked back up at the boy and continued talking in a rather more hesitant manner. "Charlie... Please tell me what you're thinking. I cannot help you figure something out, or clarify anything for you if you don't ask any questions you might have. However silly you might think they are it is worthwhile asking them. I'm not going to get angry or upset with you. You might even spark off an idea we can work on in the inventing room. I'm not going to be able to share my secrets with you if you don't get used to telling me that you're uncertain about something, am I?"

Some part of Wonka's speech had obviously hit home with Charlie, as he gave a quick nod and then started to speak. "It's just... If the ground was edible, didn't we ruin it by walking all over it in our dirty shoes and clothing?" he asked hesitantly.

To his surprise Wonka beamed at him. "Excellent question, with what I hope will prove to be a highly interesting answer!" Willy informed him. After a short pause Wonka started to ask a question of his own. "Charlie, do you remember the strange corridors we went through at the very start of the tour?" he asked quietly. "You mean the one which was all black and white, and only had one door which somehow opened to a different room to the one we'd entered it in, and the one which got smaller the further up it you got?" he responded quickly. "Of course I remember them, the others were so mad and wanted out – and Veruca's father asked if it were some kind of funhouse!" Wonka smiled back at him and quoted himself deadpan. "Why, having fun?" causing Charlie to laugh. "Exactly!" the boy grinned. "Actually, Grandpa Joe and I were, but I don't think anyone else was."

Willy smiled back at the boy. "Oh, I was too." Wonka admitted quietly. Then he continued on. "Anyway, the reason for my bringing them up is that those two corridors, but most especially the first one, sanitizes whatever you are wearing. In fact, I must ask that whenever you leave the factory you pass through that corridor upon your return. Do you remember the combination number?" he questioned, just to be sure.

Charlie smiled at him and quoted confidently. "99, 44, 100% pure. But I don't know that I'd manage the musical lock." He then admitted, as his mentor smiled proudly at him. "No matter." Wonka told him. "We'll find a way for you to get round that. As long as you go through the first corridor – just tramp around it a little, knock against the walls, either with your hand or body, and by the time you open the door again you should be free to wander through the Chocolate Room without any need to worry about how safe it is to eat anything on the ground."

Charlie smiled back in relief. "That's good hearing. And at least we don't need to make sure it's good enough to sell. Not like the chocolate river." He commented. And with that remark Wonka quickly recalled that he'd come down here to observe the waterfall starting to fill the river again, and to be sure that all was working correctly – especially when it came to the pipes taking up the chocolate. He had no wish to have to dispose of another large batch of chocolate. Soon he lead Charlie through a mass of tunnels, and kneeling down pressed the hidden button which opened the door to the cliff.

They carefully exited the maze of tunnels, and Wonka had Charlie sit down on the ledge near the place the Oompa Loompa's had been dealing with creaming the river. This spot was high enough that he wouldn't end up touching the chocolate mixture with his feet when it came up to its usual level. Wonka himself went and watched the fall of the new chocolate mixture as it began to fill up the area. Then, as the level got higher he turned his attention to the various suction pipes, seeing they were working as required with a sigh of relief. He could forget about this now.

He turned to look at Charlie who had previously been watching him as he carefully monitored everything which was going on around him, calling out instructions to the various Oompa Loompa's, and generally making sure that all was going well. Now that it was quiet again the boy was staring wistfully across the chocolate river towards the grounds which formed the Chocolate Room.

Willy sighed gently and touched the boy on the shoulder. "I can't take you into the main body of the chocolate room right now Charlie, I'm sorry." He apologised quietly. "I'm sure it must be far too close to dinner time for that, and we both missed lunch." He pointed out, before brightening. "Having said that, I'm sure that it would be OK for me to ask one of the Oompa Loompa's to collect something for you to have after you have eaten. What would you like?"

It seemed he had guessed correctly regarding what his young apprentice was thinking. "Really Wonka?" he asked excitedly. "Of course dear boy, it's not a problem." Wonka assured him. Then Charlie went quiet again for a moment, obviously considering whether he wanted to ask for something he really wanted rather than something he thought would be more acceptable.

Wonka looked at him in concern. Then he decided to go out on a limb just in case he was right in what his apprentice was doing. "Just tell me what you want Charlie, don't change it because you think I'll somehow think differently of you for what you've asked for. What would you want to go up to and try if I took you over into the gardens right now?"

It seemed that the shock tactic had worked, for Charlie spoke, almost without thinking about it. "One of those Yellow Flowers." The statement burst out of him, causing him to hide his face with embarrassment. Wonka touched him on the shoulder gently. "What's up Charlie?"

"I shouldn't have asked for that." The response was mumbled; apparently he must have been eating his trouser leg. Wonka smiled gently, knowing that when he spoke it would be reflected in his tones. "I think a mango or pineapple flower sounds like a wonderful idea Charlie. Why on earth would you think I would worry about your asking for one?"

Charlie looked up, hiding most of his face behind his knees, but letting his eyes peep out over the top of them until he was sure that his mentor didn't look upset. "But they're yours" he protested quietly.

Wonka chuckled, making a warm sound which somehow led Charlie to laughing as well. "I admit I enjoy them." He stated. "That's why I think they make a wonderful choice for you to try. So many of our confections are delicious, but that's something extra special." Wonka admitted quietly. "There are plenty for us both to have one. And the rooms which are dedicated to Chocolate Room produce are continually making more flowers for that particular bush – we're never going to run out" he explained quietly. "They're made in one shade of very pale yellow, and as they ripen in the warmth of the chocolate room they become brighter and brighter. It's wonderful seeing the crop of sweet flavoured flowers gradually getting to the point where they are ready to be picked." Wonka finished, smiling down at the boy at his side.

Charlie nodded, but it was clear by his actions that he wasn't ready to move on as yet. There was still something troubling him about it. Wonka sat down nearby and waited in silence for a few more minutes, but as alert to the passing of time as ever he finally decided that he would have to ask another question. "Something is still bothering you about this isn't it Charlie?" The boys head came up fully and he flushed. Seeing something of desperation in his eyes, Wonka beckoned him over, and watched as the boy slowly scooted across the ground to lean against him.

Then Wonka held him close, patting his arm awkwardly as he did so. Charlie seemed to almost melt against him, a little like chocolate bars did when they began to get too warm. Finally, having shifted from his patting motion to something closer to rubbing Charlie's arm, Wonka felt he could ask it again. "What's the matter Charlie?" This time it seemed he was to get his answer, as the words poured out of the boy. "I don't want you to think I'm just copying you. Of course, I'd have never thought to try the flowers if I hadn't seen you having one earlier on, and I do want to be like you, so I am interested because of that, but I don't want you to think that I'm nothing but a copy cat!" The words rushed out of the boy in a steady stream, quickly enough that Wonka had to listen carefully to work out what he was saying, a testament as to how much this mattered to him.

Wonka gently hugged the boy to him. "It's alright Charlie. Even if the only reason you wanted to try the flower is because I had one, even if you decided you wanted to dress like I do, I would never call you a copy cat. I would simply feel honoured that you had chosen to emulate me. After all, Alan Cohen once said "_Great masters neither want, nor need your worship. Your greatest gift to them and yourself is to emulate their divinity by claiming it as your own_." In other words, copy me if it makes you feel closer to me, if you feel things I do are admirable. By doing so you will make me feel pleased, as I will know that you believe the choices I make are worth copying. Stay true to yourself and you can do nothing that will make me feel ashamed of you. Alright Charlie?"

Wonka knew that the specifics of much of what he had just said was probably beyond Charlie right now, but hopefully the thrust of what he was saying would gloss over the slight inconsistencies in meaning. Willy didn't always quote people exactly, nor perhaps in the way the original authors intended, but he generally managed to get his point across.

This time it seemed to be enough as Charlie finally got moving, and crouching down the two passed back through the door in the rock and out into the general maze of corridors. Just in time too as the group of Oompa Loompa's who were responsible for looking after the chocolate river were beginning to enter the tunnels to deal with the first creaming and sugaring of this newest batch of chocolate. The chocolate room pipes would continue to be diverted for the next half hour or so, but after that point in time they would routinely deliver the chocolate back to the rooms where it was used in the various candy they produced.


	11. Settling in - Party at Wonka

Thank you to all of my readers. This is the last chapter I have pre-written, so I guess I'm going to have to set aside some serious writing time now! That's if people think it's worthwhile of course! ;-) As people seem to be reading it, it would appear that they do think so...

If you recognise any of this from elsewhere it cannot be mine... No money being made regardless.

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Settling In

Willie returned Charlie to his family just as they were beginning to wonder about what they would have for their dinner, and where it would come from. Wonka had immediately suggested that for that evening they join him, and that the following morning they go along to the floor kitchen where everything was stocked up. They could worry about eating from their own kitchen and dining area after that.

"I don't want you to feel you are restricted to this suite – not to eat or for any other reason. The factory is now your home, and as soon as we've been able to show you where the main rooms are you will be free to roam all but the production areas. We have a thriving community life here and you are free to integrate into it as much as you're willing to do so." He assured them gently. "Indeed, it is my hope that you will only retreat here when you feel the need for a little family time, or time to yourselves, and that you will join Mr Wilkinson, myself and the Oompa Loompa's in one of the other dining areas as often as you wish to eat with others, and partake in the other activities that are offered throughout the week as well."

As the family were taking in this flow of information, Wonka returned to the main issue at hand "A I suggested earlier, for tonight, I would be delighted if you would join me in my suite as my guests. It will let us start to get to know each other better. I do so hate feeling that others in my home are relative strangers to me. After all, it is well known that _strangers are nothing but friends we haven't met yet_." He smiled at them, and they soon found themselves wandering along to be seated in the lounge area of Mr Wonka's Suite which was just round the corner from their own. "My suite is the caramel suite." He informed them, commenting on the sweet smell which now surrounded them. "I just cannot get over the sweet flavour of caramel first thing in the morning. I wouldn't feel properly awake without it!" he further explained. "Feel free to taste it, but don't eat too much as dinner should be ready soon." He told them, pointing at the various edible areas in the room with an infectious grin.

Suddenly there was a rumbling from the kitchen area, and Wonka jumped up. "Just on time, as expected!" he exclaimed. He then invited Ellie through to show her the unusual food delivery service. "I so rarely have the time to actually cook myself a decent meal. If I were to attempt it in the evening I'd regularly find myself eating at midnight I think. Therefore the Oompa Loompa cooking division factor in all meals for myself and my guests. Another of my employee's, Mr Wilkenson, went along to inform the kitchen that there would be more food required here this evening." Ellie smiled at him uncertainly as she noticed something which looked like a tray floating up through something which looked like a stone fireplace. It bore 7 bowls of a thick soup and a basket of freshly sliced bread, alongside 7 bright yellow cups. "Aaaah. Looks like Mampa has been cooking today – the soup is her own special take on Lentil Soup. And that's Meme Sevet's wonderful bread. It tastes wonderful, and keeps forever. She must have baked a fresh batch this afternoon though as we were all out of it by the end of breakfast this morning." Then he turned to her with a smile on his face "the cups are a special treat requested by Charlie. They have a nectar of Mango or Pineapple, and once the nectar is finished, they make the most delightful crunchy-chewy treat I've ever tasted – and I've tasted a lot of sweets!" he laughed.

"Tomorrow I shall introduce you to the Oompa Loompa's responsible for cooking, and I'm sure you will come up with a sensible food plan between you – The options being having the makings of a meal sent up, or pre cooked food, whatever takes your fancy." He looked at the tired woman before him. "I don't want to take your independence away Ellie." He said gently, "but neither do you have to struggle on your own any more. The Oompa Loompa's are there, and are already doing this job – if you let them, they will gladly cater for your family as well."

Willy smiled as he thought of the enthusiasm his friends displayed when given the opportunity to help out with the day to day running of the factory beyond confectionary. Not every Oompa Loompa was really suited to that work, and they had formed off into different divisions to take care of so many different aspects of life, meaning he just had to get up in the morning, throw on a clean outfit and then get on with the business of running the factory.

"Of course," he continued, "if you'd rather you can cook from scratch in your own suite, or go down to the canteen on the next level and eat with the Oompa Loompa's themselves – though I warn you they can have some rather strange combinations down there, cacao beans feature in every single dish, James Wilkenson and I had to set up a special recipe book of things we like to eat as it all very quickly got too much ." Essentially they had got one of the Oompa Loompa cooks to write out their recipes, and then went and scored out every addition of cacao plant, substituting their preferred flavourings. They far preferred 'broccoli cheese' to 'broccoli in cacao sauce' for example.

" The other option is to go three doors down past your suite to the hall communal kitchen – you're as likely to meet James or myself there some nights, and we both regularly have breakfast there." The two of them watched as the tray zoomed through the open door into the other room and stopped on a handy table, Ellie trying to absorb all the information being given to her as she stood there. Both the information, and the system the food trays apparently worked on were well beyond her comprehension, as tired as she was. Wonka quickly moved through the room to place the different dishes at each preset place, inviting them all to take a seat around the table as he did so.

That meal passed quickly. The soup had been delicious, but so filling. Wonka had had three bowls of it, but the more frugal family had barely managed to finish their first serving, especially when had with a slice of the delicious nutty bread which had been sent up with it. "You'll soon build up an appetite here, best not to have too much at first until you're used to it – I wouldn't want you to become unwell by eating too much rich food all at once." Wonka told them compassionately, all the while nonchalantly munching his way through 4 slices of bread, smeared with a thick creamy butter. Then he had started on his flower.

Charlie was so desperate to try one that he cast aside his slight despair at the thought his tummy might rebel at this treatment and took a sip. The flavour was delicious, and to his great surprise, a few minutes after his first taste the churning in his belly began to calm down. Wonka smiled at his surprise. "The Oompa Loompa's know me well, and are aware just how much I like their cooking. The flowers I get sent along with food always have the addition of a special tummy calming mixture to guard against ill health. And best of all, it doesn't harm the flavour in the least!" he exulted.

At this news, the rest of Charlie's family quickly pulled the cup's to them and gingerly sipped from the cups. The first smile, at the pleasure of the taste, came at once. Then, a few minutes later, there was a slight relaxing of features as they sighed. They had all taken in far more good food in that one meal than they had managed over the course of a full day in recent weeks, because the Oompa Loompa's simply stuffed their soup to bursting with so many good vegetables, and Charlie's Mom had to rely on cabbage in water as the basis of every meal they had.

"It might also be an idea to have a sip from the water fountain in your lounge before you go to bed." Wonka informed them. "That has a special minty tasting waterfall, and mint is also supposed to calm the tummy." Grandpa George took especial interest in this news, and it wasn't long until the group moved over to the large soft sofa's which sat in the corner of the room

Wonka took a good look at Charlie, and noticed that he was bouncing at the edge of his seat, hardly managing to contain his excitement. It had been a huge day for him – and with the mix of the good breakfast, the mug of hot chocolate, and so many delicious confections as well as this excellent evening meal he was still full of energy. Wonka smiled at the boy's infectious excitement.

"I think it might be a good idea for us to have a little party!" he exclaimed. Quickly he slipped out of the room and fetched a few board games as well as Mr Wilkenson who he introduced to the other adults in the room. He suggested that James should play some of the games with the adults, while he entertained Charlie for a while.

With the grandparents happily playing a board game, and Mr Wilkenson chatting with Charlie's Mom when he wasn't required for his parts in the game, Wonka was able to turn his attention to Charlie. There was no way the boy would be able to sit still long enough to play any board game – and Wonka was rather concerned about how much sleep he might get if something wasn't done to work off that excess energy.

Slipping quickly into his room, he picked up a selection of party records, and when he joined the others again he requested that Charlie choose the first one for them to put on. The next few hours Wonka encouraged Charlie to tire himself out by dancing along to the upbeat tracks on the record. Charlie was initially reluctant, but the mix of his excitement, and the encouragement from Wonka soon found him dancing along to tracks such as "the Hokey Pokey."

An hour or so later, with the arrival of some glasses of refreshing fruit juice for everyone, Charlie collapsed on one of the couches. Wonka moved over to the couch and handed Charlie his glass. "This should help you recover a little young man!" he said with a cheery smile. Charlie grinned back at him, and turned his attention to the game his relatives were playing. It seemed like the team made up by Grandma Georgiana and Grandpa George were just about to win the game. Grandma Georgiana's general knowledge was excellent and this gave them the edge over the others.

One final round and it was all over – it seemed as if those who participated had really enjoyed their evening. With the game finally despatched, they settled down for a little more idle chit chat while everyone enjoyed their drinks, and a further hour slowly passed as the large group relaxed together.

Eventually however, there seemed to be a general consensus that it was time for the others to return to their own abodes. Mr Wilkenson and Willy were deep in conversation about what stage various jobs were at, and Ellie was starting to get the feeling that the family were currently surplus to requirements. At a look from his Daughter-in-Law, Grandpa Joe turned to Wonka and gave him his thanks. "If you don't mind Mr Wonka, it might be time for us to head back to our suite now and see if we can get a bit more settled in before calling it a night. Thank you for all your help and the wonderful evening!"

Wonka had smiled at him. "My dear sir, I think it is about time you called me Willy. All of you" he expanded, "except for Charlie, who has already agreed to call me 'Wonka.'" He stated with a smile. "I refuse to constantly have such formality in my home, and" he continued smiling round at them all "this entire factory is my home." The others nodded their acceptance, and began to filter out through the door – but not until Charlie had run up to the man and given him one last clinging hug. "I'll see you in the morning Charlie." Wonka had promised, when it began to seem that the boy might never let go, before gently leading him over to his mother. Ellie smiled at the older man, and wrapped an arm around Charlie before leading him to the door.


	12. Settling in - Mint Mountain Range Suite

The family of six retired to the lounge where they all sat together, looking around in utter amazement. Given the size of the living space they had been used to up until this point, they were all rather overwhelmed by the generosity they were currently experiencing. How could it be that they were to live here. How could they get used to this. And yet Grandma Georgina, and her husband Grandpa George were starting to doze off, with Grandma Josephine not doing all that much better. This had been a big day for all three of them.

Grandpa Joe still seemed to be running on adrenaline. He was actually invited to live in the same building as Mr Willy Wonka. And his Grandson Charlie was to be the man's apprentice! What could be better than that? He looked round and surveyed his family with a loving smile. Life really had turned around completely in the last day. He had been so sure that life was at an end for him, and yet, here he was, on the cusp of more wonderful experiences than he could have ever imagined!

As George and Georgina fell into an even deeper slumber their special wheelchairs whisked them back through the room to put them into bed. The breeze generated by the contraptions moving by roused Josephine who announced that she would be taking herself off now – she had no wish to be taken to bed by some wayward machine! Then she turned to her daughter in law, suggesting gently that it might be time for her to retire as well. "We can safely leave Charlie and Joe to dissect their day together" she pointed out. "Don't keep the boy up too late Joe!" she strictly instructed before zooming out of the room, Ellie following tiredly in her wake.

Joe waited until they were safely out of the room, and then turned to Charlie smiling at him conspiratorially. "So Charlie... Tell me about your impressions of the day." Charlie talked about the different things he could remember for a while, and then paused. "What are you thinking Charlie?" his grandfather prodded gently.

"It's just... at the end of the tour, when you and Mr Wonka were upset with each other, you looked devastated. Was that because you had lost a hero? I know what you think about Mr Wonka, so thought it might be to do with that." Charlie admitted quietly.

Grandpa Joe looked down at the ground and sighed heavily. "Not quite Charlie, though there was some of that in it. Mr Wonka is someone I've always looked up to, and I was disappointed in his behaviour, but there was someone who upset me far more than that." He responded.

Charlie hung his head... "It was me, wasn't it Grandpa? I let you down." His grandfather looked up in shock. "Charlie! Don't you believe a word of it!" he exclaimed, striding forwards to wrap the boy in a warm hug. "You did nothing to disappoint me today Charlie. I'm so proud of the way you handled it all." He looked down at Charlie, wiping his eyes gruffly, and noticed the boy peering up at him. Looking lovingly into his Grandson's eyes he continued on. "no, the one I was disappointed in the most today was myself Charlie. You had such a great chance there, and my thoughtlessness almost did you out of a wonderful prize."

Charlie pulled out of his arms in astonishment. "But I had the chance to say 'no' Grandpa. I could easily have reminded you that Mr Wonka had said not to taste it." Joe put a hand on Charlie's shoulder and squeezed it gently, smiling down at him. "That is true Charlie, but you'd never have thought about it if I hadn't suggested the idea in the first place, and that's the important thing here. I was upset at the loss of my hero, and felt betrayed by him failing to live up to my image of him, but I was even more disappointed in myself as I was the catalyst for your being denied the prize you were looking forwards to so much.

"Now... Those were my emotions, what do you think Willy felt?" Charlie hummed and hawed a little, before responding to his Grandfather. "He felt let down, and that the whole day had been a waste of time I think. He must have been so excited at the start of the day, knowing the extra prize he had waiting for one of those on the tour, and yet, no one lived up to his hopes. It must have been awful for him." He stated slowly, starting with the easier conclusions given what had been said at the time. "I think he found it more trouble than it was worth by the time the clear up process which was needed from our visits was completed. Did you realise they had to drain the chocolate river after Augustus's adventure for example?" he asked, warming to his theme. Grandpa nodded his head in agreement. "Anything else?" he queried, eager to hear more of his grandson's views.

Charlie sighed heavily... "I think he believed us to be thieves, taking what we hadn't even asked for, never mind being given permission to take." His Grandfather gave him a hug. "we've covered that part enough I think Charlie, and didn't he tell us that you had suggested a way they could improve the recipe while we were eating? I think you can safely say we've been forgiven. Charlie nodded in agreement, and then continued his thoughts, securely wrapped in his Grandfather's embrace.

"In some ways, I think we were in the wrong place at the wrong time." He admitted quietly. "Wonka had so much to deal with during the day – the behaviour of the rest of the kids was horrible a lot of the time, and the way their parents treated him... He takes them into a magical room and they talk down at him, or make jokes at him, he takes them through some strange corridors, and they shout at him. They seemed to be so self obsessed!" then he looked up in horror. "Did I just say that?" he asked his chuckling Grandfather. Breaking free of the older man's hold he continued. "I think Mr Wonka needed to express his disappointment at someone, and we were in the way of it." He admitted quietly. Then he looked across at his Grandfather "Some of my teachers do that, except they choose the person they're going to use as their target first."

Not being too sure what to say, Joe continued with the previous subject, filing the comment away for future thought. "Those are some very good guesses as to why Mr Wonka would act the way he did Charlie." He congratulated the boy. "What of the test that he talked about later on? Do you think some of it could be related to his testing to see how you'd react to being shouted at?"

Charlie pondered on this idea for a short while. "It's possible it was at least partially something to do with that." He pronounced. "Wonka did strike me as an extreme showman over the course of the tour, especially towards strangers and those he isn't sure about." He admitted slowly. "I kind-of wondered how easy it would be to get to know the real Mr Wonka, because he seems to have some kind of barriers to keep the world at bay. He must have been so hurt by the people who stole his recipes that he finds it difficult to let people in. I wonder if that's why he keeps on making all those strange quotes."

Grandpa Joe observed him as he stood across the room, not really sure where to start responding. "I do think there is more to it than that with the quotes things Charlie – sometimes people think that others are more likely to believe them if they use a quote, or it's simply that others put things better. But I'm sure you'll find Willy uses the quotes for lots of different reasons, and you could well be right as to why he used them during the tour.

"As for getting to know the real man – I think you met him this afternoon and this evening Charlie. I don't think he's put any act on since you returned the gobstopper to him. He's let you right into his heart, and it's wonderful to see how much he cares for you already. I think you've got a real friendship developing there Charlie – one of a kind that's rarely found. You do your best to hold onto it tight and never let go."

The two sat in silence for a while, both pondering on what had been said between them, before Joe started drawing out Charlie's opinions on the other children and their parents, continuing to supplement his thoughts in the way he had done before. Some of them had really complicated characters when they came to talking about the possible reasons behind their actions. The discussion continued on for a number of hours, both of them were enjoying the time together too much to want to give it up. This was the first time one of their conversations about experiences (and the motives of the people involved) that had confused or upset Charlie hadn't been at least partially hypothetical. The only other time they both experienced any of the situations they discussed was on the odd occasion Ellie got upset with one of them. So often it was simply Charlie relating something he'd endured, usually at school, and asking Grandpa Joe to help him to understand it better. This time they had both lived through the events, and the discussion was that much more interesting to both of them.

Eventually they decided that it was time for bed however, and Charlie had found himself in his room, gazing about himself in wonder. As he tucked himself between the covers he revelled in the size of his room, and all the trappings that accompanied it. There was a water fountain with the warm chocolate and mint flavoured drink, and another with plain water which was cold. All the better for cleaning his teeth, and if he didn't want to have something sweet to drink he decided with a smile.

The size of the bed amazed him – as did the feeling of the sheets. He was amazed that he wasn't too hot, as they were far thicker than those he was used to using, But Wonka had told him that many places in the factory had settings to make sure an ideal temperature was provided for each resident, so he figured it was something to do with that.

Charlie closed his eyes and attempted to fall asleep, just to find his mind racing, producing thought after thought on the experiences of the day. While he had enjoyed the discussion he had had with his Grandfather his thoughts had started to churn during the course of their conversation. It struck Charlie now that the timing of their chat may not have been the best decision they had ever made, as now he was in bed he was struggling to turn them off again. Sighing, he let his thoughts drift back slowly to the day of his first pay packet, and the following one where he had first heard about the Golden Tickets...

It was as he shifted in his bed for what felt like it must be the thousandth time that he heard the light tap on the door – the door which led to the outer corridor, rather than the rest of the suite.

Moving quickly, Charlie got out of bed and opened the door slightly to discover Wonka on the other side of it. He quickly pulled it wider, and invited him in. The older man motioned towards the bed, sending Charlie scurrying back to slip between the covers. Wonka quietly closed the door, and went to sit on the end of the bed. It was only as he did so that Charlie realised the man was warmly wrapped in a plum coloured dressing gown. His wild hair was damp, and hung in loose curls down around his ears. His kindly eyes regarded Charlie gently.

There was silence for a few minutes as the pair regarded each other without speaking. Then Wonka spoke. "What's stopping you from sleeping Charlie?" he asked quietly. Charlie looked at him, not quite sure how to respond. "I..." he got no further, and after a few minutes Wonka decided to rephrase his question.

"Are you finding the room too strange? Or are you struggling to stop thinking about all that has happened today? Are you simply restless and not able to relax properly? Or are you worrying about something else?"

Faced with a set of direct questions Charlie found it far easier to answer. "Mostly the first two." He admitted. Wonka was about to respond to this, when suddenly the door to the rest of the flat opened to reveal Charlie's Mom, who strode inside with an unhappy look on her face.

"I'm not too sure how you got in sir, but would you care to explain why you are talking to my son at two o'clock in the morning?" she demanded. Wonka blushed, realising he had overstepped. "I apologise. I heard Charlie through the wall as my room is on the other side of it. I believed that you and the rest of your family would be in great need of your sleep, so thought I would come through to see if I could help."

Tired as she was, Ellie's mind caught onto one thing she thought she understood. "Your room has a door which directly opens into my son's bedroom?" She asked in horror. Wonka looked up, shock clear in his eyes. "Certainly not dear lady, though at one point it would not have been at all untoward for a master and his apprentices room's to be so linked. However, I came through the door over there, which opens to the corridor. Each room in every suite has a door which connects to one corridor or another – it is merely a sensible fire precaution for a building of this size." He finished explaining quietly.

Standing up he held out a small bottle to her. "This is another sweet concoction the Oompa Loompa's are particularly adept at making. It's supposed to help those who have trouble sleeping – though it's not for those who have too much energy to sleep. They are far better exercising. It should help with general relaxing and calming rushing thoughts though, and I believe it sounds like that's what Charlie is the most in need of now. Maybe some of the rest of your family might benefit from it as well."

Once she had taken the bottle Wonka shook her free hand and slipped towards the door. "I shall remember in the future that you would prefer me to restrict my time with Charlie to the daylight hours and times he is not in your quarters. I do not wish you to feel that I am taking your son from you Ellie, but neither will I let him feel abandoned if he cannot sleep or is particularly upset. If you prefer it I'll come to the main door and speak with you rather than entering his room from the side door again. I only want what is best for him – and I realise we're going to have to work out the best way for things to move forwards for your family as part of that. I do not wish to intrude even as I, and everyone else in the factory, become part of your lives. You are a family in your own right, but are gradually going to become part of our wider family dynamic. One step at a time dear lady."

With that he gently laid a hand on her arm, and turning to Charlie he bid the boy a good night's sleep, bowing slightly to them both before silently passing through the door.

Charlie and Ellie looked at each other when he had left, Charlie in clear bewilderment. Ellie reached her hand out to her son, and he scrambled out to join her. Wrapping her arms tightly around him, Ellie dropped a kiss on his head and then apologised to him. "I'm sorry for sending your friend away Charlie, but there are things that I as a mother wish to reserve for myself to sort out – and times when you're struggling to sleep at night fall into that category." She glanced down at his understanding eyes. "At one point I shared that job with your Father, but Mr Wonka isn't your father, nor is he ever likely to be!" she told him, swiping a few tears from the corner of her eye.

Charlie looked up at her. "I don't think he even considered that Mom." He replied. "I think he was acting as he believed a mentor ought to." Then he sighed. "I think I look on him as an uncle, and you wouldn't find that untoward." He pointed out quietly, before putting a hand on top of hers and squeezing it gently. "Talk with the Gramp's about it, especially Grandpa George and Grandma Georgiana." He suggested, referring to her parents, who were also the oldest of the four. "maybe something could be arranged so that Mr Wonka keeps an eye out for me if you are unable to do so. Like when you take the time to have a rest, or if you wanted to go out. Like some kind of 'in house' babysitter." He joked, causing his Mom to smile.

Ellie dropped a kiss on his brow. "When did you get so wise?" she asked him, eyes twinkling gently at him, though he could clearly see that she was still close to the tears which had threatened earlier. Charlie shrugged. "I guess it's something to do with growing up with my four grandparents'." He suggested quietly, deciding that it was probably not a good idea to point out that the kind of life he had led for as long as he remembered wasn't really likely to keep him as young as his peers.

Ellie smiled at him. "Come on then you, back to bed!" she instructed him, with a gentle clap on his shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning." Charlie smiled back at his Mom and agreed, before admitting "I'm so glad Mr Jopeck gave me tomorrow off. It gives me one day to try and get used to living here before normal life begins again." Ellie looked at him with a slightly haunted look in her eyes causing Charlie to sigh again. "Don't start worrying about how things will pan out now Mom – we can talk with Mr Wonka about that in the morning." He reminded her before yawning.

"Think you can sleep now?" she questioned him, moving to the doorway and reaching for the light switch. "Yes thanks Mom." He answered, before rolling over and closing his eyes.

Ellie observed him from the doorway for a moment before slipping out and gently closing the door before going to seek her own bed. It had been such a long and eventful day and she so longed for a little more sleep. Once she was safely between the sheets it took very few minutes before they both dropped off and neither opened their eyes again until the dawn light shone through the curtains.


	13. Start of the first full day - part 1

Welcome back everyone. We're now broadening out to include a few other people's views on the new situation.

Hope you enjoy it! :-)

As noted before, if you recognise it from elsewhere, it doesn't belong to me...

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The Start of the First Full Day.

The Bucket family hadn't long gathered in the lounge the following morning when a tapping came at the door. Thinking it would be Willy, Ellie strode to the door and answered it. She felt the need to have things out fully with the man. She did appreciate that he only wanted the best for Charlie, and that the dynamics of this new set up would be quite complex, but she also felt the man ought to have realised that his passing the boundaries of their suite in that fashion was wrong.

She had roused early in the morning, and her thoughts had quickly turned to the happenings of the previous day, and most particularly the encounter with the strange man in the middle of the night. She hadn't slept particularly well before she heard the low male voice in her son's room, and not knowing, or particularly trusting, anyone in this strange place, the sound had terrified her. "Where did that man get off?" she wondered to herself, tiredness colouring her thoughts and emotions. "He had no right to do that!"

Opening the door she got a shock however, as the person waiting there proved to be James Wilkenson, and she forced herself to swallow down the furious words which were threatening to erupt from her.

Concerned.

"Good morning everyone." He greeted them with a cheerful smile, careful not to let any sign of his thoughts show through. "I'm here to show you all through to the place Willy and I typically have breakfast. Willy won't be there," he continued, dashing the smile of hope on Charlie's face, and bringing a relieved expression to Ellie's as she had no wish to do battle with the man over her morning meal. "He decided to get an early start to the day and is already fathoms deep in the paperwork he'd normally have dealt with yesterday." Given it wasn't long past 8am, Charlie rather wondered what 'early' meant, especially given the fact he had been awake so late the night before.

Then, as he began to lead the way to the communal kitchen, he started explaining some of their thoughts for how the family's day might pan out. "After breakfast we thought you might like to meet up with some of the other residents here. It would be impossible to meet everyone as we have a population of several hundred Oompa Loompa's, including young, and the adults all have conflicting work patterns."

"Several hundred?" echoed Grandma Georgiana. "Where do you put them all?" she queried. James smiled at her. "This factory is far larger than it would seem from the outside." He explained, "It goes many floors underground, and has several storey's above it as well. Plus, because they're smaller than we are, their accommodation doesn't have to be as large as those places which are planned for us to use." The family nodded in understanding as they began to organise themselves with something to eat and drink from the selection of items already present in the room.

James waited until they were all seated at the table before continuing his explanations. "I'm sure that Willy explained we have flourishing leisure facilities." He started, and seeing the interest on their faces he continued quickly. "We're currently in the residential area, but in the opposing tower building" here he paused to wave out the window towards the structure he was talking about "we have a swimming pool, ice rink, climbing wall and cinema on the ground floor, a shopping mall area with many different kinds of stores on the second level, and a library and study area at the top. There's a play park or three in the shadows of the building – well away from the eyes of those who live outside of the factory walls. And we used similar technology to that which is in the chocolate room to create a non-edible area with areas for indoor hill walking and the like.

"For a man made structure I have to admit that it's amazing. Though nothing on the beach area – where we're able to have sea bathing and sunbathing – the temperature is wonderful, even if there is no real sun around it the lamps mimic it well – as well as the odd game of volleyball, if we're feeling energetic. And that's nothing to the forest room, which provides plenty of tree climbing, some fabulous tree houses, and a great place for water balloon fights as well as tracking games." He winked conspiratorially. "Of course," he continued, "Willy would tell you all of this, and then turn round and state that the forest room had nothing on the hill walking area..." he trailed off, waiting in anticipation for the reactions.

The family had listened to what he had to say in amazement. Was this all really possible? As the silence stretched on, James smiled at them. "All a little much to take in?" he queried gently. When Grandma Josephine admitted that it was, he responded with a reminder that they'd never have believed that what they had experienced so far was possible, and yet they now had clear proof that it was...

"Willy is forever trying to invent better ways of marketing his chocolate better, as Charlie and Joe saw in the TV room yesterday. Sometimes we're able to get ahead of the outside world, other times, not so much. He applies the same dedication to the lifestyles of his workforce and all the dependents which come along with them. He is committed to progress and giving us all a wide array of choices, to experience life in the outside world, even as we choose to stay within its walls. I doubt that there is any real major innovation that he doesn't introduce here in one form or another. We even have a couple of computers in the library area. Willy is expecting things to really take off in that industry over the next little while, and has a group of Oompa Loompa's on teams to see how they develop and how we can best make use of them as that happens. It may be many years before most homes in the country have one, but that time is coming at some point in the future."

He then went on to tell them of plans for them to meet up with the Oompa Loompa's in charge of food and feeding – Ellie would need to decide with them how best to feed the family, and if there were any specific meals and times she wanted them to eat as a family. There would be a tour of the factory, and then an appointment would be set up with the various medical teams, so they could be sure that the family remained as healthy as possible. "I know you may have a family physician outwith the factory, but as our people will be dealing with you should you become unwell on factory grounds it is as well for them to have as good an understanding of your likely medical needs as is possible before such a situation arises. They may also have other ideas to help you. The Oompa Loompa nursing staff came up with the idea for the wheel chairs you currently have for example."

Then, seeing the slightly mulish look on Ellie's face, he went over to the woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're not doing this to control you Ellie. You are more than welcome to go into the outside world and continue with your routines there. This is just some extra stuff we ask you would allow us to have done, for our own comfort. It's policy for every person residing on factory grounds to go through this process."

Ellie continued to glare at him. "That's all very well, but how are we to pay for these services?" she asked sharply. James jumped slightly in his surprise at the question. "There will be no charge for such a service." He told her gently. "We do this for our own peace of mind, it's not a money making system." He glanced round the room at the looks of interest everyone else was giving him. "Nothing in the factory has any charge to it, except the items in the shops, which are made by some of our skilled Oompa Loompa's and have a small charge to cover production costs." He then went on to explain how their unique system worked, as the workers had signed on to work for their wages in cacao beans rather than money.

This had translated into housing, food, clothing and leisure facilities being paid for out of the factory profits, and the Oompa Loompa's finding work either in the production side of the factory, or whatever else Willy might have a need of them for – there was a technology department who kept the boat, wonkavator, and other transport machines going well, and created new technologies, such as the hovering dinner trays, when required. Others began the services that the Oompa Loompa's required to make the place a good home for them, such as a nursery for their children, and medical facilities. These facilities were also used by Willy and James when they had a need, and the kitchen facilities also provided the majority of their meals. James tended to feel it all worked out in the end.

No one was banned from visiting the outside world, although Willy and James were the most regular visitors. There was a standard procedure for Willy and the Oompa Loompa's to go through before they left the factory to try and ensure that they were not recognised for who they were – although this was for very different reasons. Willy had no wish for the Oompa Loompa's to be taken for scientific study due to the colour of their hair and skin. The Oompa Loompa's had experienced the shock that their unusual colouring gave people from the outside world, and tended to be wary of going out again. Willy had no wish to be mobbed by either chocolate lovers or the media, so he put on a disguise, mostly by way of covering his hair and eyes, and dressing in a completely different way to his public image.

As Charlie and Ellie, if not his grandparents, were well known in the outside world, and Charlie at the very least would have to have regular contact with it for school, disguises wouldn't fit their way of life.

Willy, when he went out, often went to enjoy the park life in the outside world. He regularly told James that while his factory rooms did a fair job of mimicking it, the outside world with its often vile weather, and changing of seasons would always remain his favourite way to get the creative juices flowing for the afternoon, and his post lunch promenade was a much anticipated feature of his working day.

James met up with many people as part of his normal working life. He handled all the contacts with their business partners, and did market research by seeing what was popular in candy stores. In fact, while Willy tried to meet up with his old friend Bill on a semi-regular basis (they must have met up once or twice a year for as long as James could remember), it was James who had personally handed over the case of chocolate which held the last ticket – even pointing out three in particular, any of which could have held the ticket. Willy had given him the order to tell Bill to give those three bars to any particularly deserving child who came in to buy some chocolate. That way, Bill didn't have the weight of deciding who to give the winning ticket to as there was a chance the one he selected would be nothing but chocolate, but there was some degree of likelihood that it wasn't just a brat who would get it.

They further instructed him to try and sell all three bars by the end of the last day in September, and if he hadn't managed it he should take what was left home for his ten year old daughter Clara-Jane that evening. Charlie had obviously said or done something while he was in the shop which caused Bill to decide that he deserved a real chance at finding one of the tickets. More deserving than many of the other children who had passed through his shop that week at least. And that decision had brought Charlie to where he was now. Bill knew that soon either he or Willy would be making a visit to the shop to thank the man for fulfilling his commission so well.

James pulled himself out of his reminiscing when he heard Charlie's Mom clear her throat. "That's all fine and very well for Mr Wonka's workers, but none of us qualify under that heading." Ellie pointed out causing James to sigh at such fierce independence, even as he admired her for it. Such a strong willed woman was sure to drive Willy up the wall. Though it might be good for him to have to deal with her, he was so used to people agreeing with him.

Except for one or two of the Oompa Loompa leaders that was, James reminded himself with a smile. They weren't averse to telling Willy when they thought he needed to change things. They'd given him a right talking to about eighteen months ago now about the need for him to find the right kind of person to run the factory when he was no longer able to do so. There was no point in waiting for the time to arrive – the Oompa Loompa's relied on him being there to do his job, and someone would have to have special training to be able to do so.

When Willy had attempted to suggest that James himself would be fine in that role they had ruthlessly pointed out that James wasn't so much younger than Willy himself, and that when Willy had been unable to work for over a year some time ago it had quickly become clear that James wasn't suited to such work.

He was far better off in an advisory or administration role. The managerial type work had brought him to the point he was almost unable to do his own work, never mind all the extra stuff Willy had to deal with on a daily basis. As if that wasn't bad enough, the inventing department had stalled in its work for almost an entire year – much to Willy's shock as he thought that was the easiest job of all, all it took was a little imagination.

"No my friend," Sampa had hammered home his point gently "You need to find fresh blood, preferably a young person who can change and adapt to the circumstances of life here. And that," he continued firmly, "means spending time in the outside world, finding that one special child you can get along with, and bringing them home to get to know us. They need to be able to fulfil your position, and most importantly of all, they need to love the factory as you do. You're going to have to brush shoulders with all kinds of people, and put up with the dross that they may well throw at you, but by doing so you shall achieve the jackpot. But you're going to have to go, and go, and go until you do find it. Never give up until you have found the one."

This challenge had taken both Willy and James through many strange experiences, as they searched for someone who would suit the diverse needs of the factory, and had lead eventually to the golden ticket idea. That competition had given both men many of the most bizarre experiences of their lives, even if it was simply seeing how quickly people began to scrabble like animals after every bar they could possibly find. Willy had almost called the whole thing off, as he had sent the precious tickets out one bar at a time, but reason had prevailed. The first ticket was already out in the world, there was little point calling it all off now however much Willy felt the world had gone mad.

It had done wonders for their sales department, James would admit that. The mayhem most of the visitors had caused within the factory was well covered by the profits they had made from the panic buying that had wiped the majority of shops out of all Wonka merchandise. And any would be law suit's that the families of the rejected contestants might pull as well – although the contracts they had signed should stop any issues that way. The worst expenses in relation to Charlie's family would also be covered by the mass purchase of chocolate, so there was really no loss there. Everything else would be ploughed back into the factory, as the living standards were pretty high as it was. By and large, even given all the unanticipated costs involved, the tour had simply increased the net worth of the factory. Given they hadn't expected there to be any profit from the competition, if they had even thought on the matter, that was a pretty good outcome. Though that was James' financial head talking. The biggest gain had been in discovering Charlie. He really was the whole reason the competition had been staged in the first place, even if they hadn't known his name...


	14. Start of the first full day - Breakfast

As he roused from his thoughts, James became aware that Ellie was still waiting for an answer. "That all depends on you Ellie, that, and all other important decisions as to your family will be taken by you, in conjunction with others available here at the factory. I've currently got you down for an appointment with Willy for those discussions at around 11am. As for finances... I believe you have a job outside the factory. Willy is prepared to give you the option of keeping that job and using the funds as you desire, or of your taking a job within the structure of the factory. There are plenty of options available here, and he'd prefer it if you chose something you would enjoy doing."

Then he realised that the family were almost done eating. "Sorry, I got sidetracked." He admitted. "The next thing on the cards is for Ellie to speak with Magda, who is head of the kitchens. That will get things rolling as to what you require food wise. Ellie, Magda will want to know what meals you want to eat here, what ones in your suite, and how much assistance you would like her to give with preparing them as well as the sorts of things you would like to eat. The foodstuffs will be added to the weekly food deliveries as that is typically how all food is sorted here."

Seeing Ellie was about to object he continued on, holding up his hand to stall her a little. "And as to how you pay for it – that's for your discussion with Willy later on." He tried to soften the blow by explaining things a little further. "the stuff has to be brought in anyway, and much of what we actually consume is grown in our variety of different gardens. We even have some of our own livestock as that's the way to get the best cream for the chocolate. However, we do want to boost the local economy as much as we can, and some things are bought in from outside."

Ellie subsided with a sigh, seeing that she was out argued on this point, and mentally adding it to the list of things she needed to discuss with Wonka. She hoped there would be plenty of time set aside for that particular meeting.

"Once you have had your discussion with Magda, you have all been scheduled for a tour of the residential and relaxation quarters. Medical alley is situated just above the relaxation areas, so you may as well have a quick look round there as well. It's well worth the look I can assure you." Given the various physio's would likely want to look all four of the grandparents over it would also prove fairly necessary that they know where they were going for the various medical departments – and they all had to make appointments for check up's with the doctors when their tour was finished. Living in a chocolate factory, regular dental appointments were also fairly mandatory – especially for the Oompa Loompa's, given how much cacao they consumed on a daily basis.

"While you are away on your tour, I would like to take a small team of Oompa Loompa's to bring what's left of your belongings to you. That's if you would allow me to do so?" Ellie quickly gave her permission for him to do this, as she believed that they would all feel far happier when they had more familiar items around them.

James smiled his thanks at her before continuing. "As you know, at eleven, Ellie is due to see Willy to discuss how best for the family to move on. Would you like anyone with you for that Ellie?" After a little discussion it was agreed that her parents would accompany her, and Joe and his wife would both entertain Charlie for the time, and they would all meet up for lunch again at 1pm. Charlie did register an interest in having some say in those parts which related to him, but he was soon convinced to let his Mom handle those decisions for the moment.

James suggested that they take their next meal in the communal kitchen. Chances were that Wonka might be in the area, but he could have decided to get the kitchen to send a meal along to his office, and James was happy to either lunch with them, or get what he wanted to eat and retreat to his own room.

Wonka, he then went on to inform them, had requested that Charlie spend the hours between two and five with him – if that was OK with Ellie. He had much for his new apprentice to start learning, and as the boy would be in school the following day he hoped to begin teaching him about his new role as soon as possible.

On hearing James mention that it was expected for Charlie to follow his normal routine of attending school, something in Ellie relaxed. One of her biggest concerns had been about how much of his normal life Charlie would be able to live. Was he to be ripped from everything he knew already, or would he be able to have some semblance of normalcy? If Willy anticipated her son being in school on Monday, that suggested that their lives would go on pretty well as they almost had despite their change of abode. At least, as much as they wanted them to that was.

Her mothering instinct had gone into overdrive the night before, and had felt that everything she knew was being torn apart. The need to protect her son from this stranger who seemed to be ready to sweep in and change their whole lives had been strong. As much as Charlie adored the man he had seemed to be a usurper to her, and this strange life had appeared restrictive... Almost as if the promise of a new life was nothing more than a gilded lump of coal, looking attractive at first, but eventually chipping off and leaving you covered in dirt.

The realisation that she had pegged him wrong caused her to slump in relief. She had pegged him wrong. That was OK. She still needed to have it out with him as boundaries definitely needed to be drawn, but maybe she could be more lenient with him than she had been anticipating at first.

It was as she was reflecting on this that a knock came at the door. James went to answer it, as her father put a comforting hand on her arm. A soft voice that somehow added to the comfort came, as James invited whoever it was in. Looking up, she soon beheld the strangest person she had ever seen. It was a small lady, with a bright orange face and bright green hair. She wore a simple dress, with an apron over it. As her jaw dropped in shock at the sight James turned to her and said. "Ellie, this is our head of cooking, Magda. Magda, this is Ellie, her parents George and Georgina, her in-law's Joe and Josephine, and her son Charlie. Charlie is to be apprenticed to Willy as I'm sure you've heard by now.

Magda swept into the room and quickly came and jumped up on a chair next to Ellie, before putting her arms round her in a protective hug. "James Wilkenson! I'll bet you never told her what to expect!" she scolded him, as she held Ellie close to her.

Ellie, who was feeling rather as if she had been put through the emotional wringer, ended up in tears again as she felt the care the smaller woman had for this stranger she had just met. Magda felt quite sure from looking at them that all the adults in this group, at the very least – she had her reservations about the boy as well – were at least slightly anaemic. The three who were wheelchair bound would probably be able to walk again if fed well enough, and given the right exercises to encourage their muscles to develop again. Rickets may well also be an issue.

She gently talked through all the options with Ellie, encouraging her to go for the most labour saving options, and making sure there was a good mix of time spent with everyone as well as family time being built in. She suggested that on the days Charlie was at school they have family meals together in the evening – Charlie would be off far too early in the day to see his grandparents at breakfast time after all. She suggested that they go down to the canteen at least once a week – she would make sure that food that they would enjoy would be available for them there. That would give them the chance to get to know some of the other Oompa Loompa's – who would form much of their new support network after all. She also suggested a good way of building up the different foods their bodies could handle, so that the rich food wouldn't be too much of a shock to their systems. She then made a plan for weekly meetings to make sure that the arrangements could be kept as up to date with their requirements as possible.

"That's not to say I'll not be available any other time though my dear." Magda told her fondly. "My door is always open to you. Come along at any time."

Ellie had to smile at the little motherly woman. Her caring nature had obviously touched a part of Ellie that had been begging out for comfort, and Ellie had found herself talking to this once was stranger about finding Wonka in Charlie's room the night before. Magda had been all that was comforting. "Silly man!" she'd exclaimed in exasperation. "Tis very like him though." She had confirmed gently. "He takes the trouble of the world on his shoulders, and cares for each person he adds to his list of friends, especially those of us inside the factory.

"He shouldn't have done what he did my dear, but it simply won't have occurred to him that it wasn't his job. He's taken Charlie on as an apprentice, and that role was reserved for a very special child as to Willy, his apprentice is pretty well his adopted son. He won't have wanted to step on your toes my dear, but it will take everyone a while to shake down together.

"Charlie is first and foremost your son, but he is now someone of high importance to a lonely and hurting soul. Willy has gone through a lot of hard times in his life, and if he can start to care for your son as a part of his family it might make all the difference in the world to him."

Ellie looked at the woman in suspicion. "Oh not you as well!" she exclaimed. "I may have lost my husband many years ago, but I am not in the market for another one!" she exclaimed in exasperation, before stating her thoughts carefully. "Jim was a very special man, and there's no way I'm going to put anyone else in the position he held in my heart." Magda looked at her with twinkling eyes. "Like that is it?" she questioned, a chuckle hiding just behind her words for a moment.

The gentle teasing didn't go on for long before she became more serious though. "Oh no!" she then stated firmly, causing Ellie to relax in relief at being able to see that this was someone who would take her seriously on this score. "I wouldn't have thought that. You two just wouldn't be suited at all. He'd drive you up the wall with all his shop talk about confectionary, and you'd not stop challenging him enough for him to get close to you. Besides which, from all you've said, you've both got pretty tragic pasts that way, and by the looks of it, neither of you have been able to work past that. I would be surprised if he hooked up with anyone if I'm honest..." Magda had sighed as she trailed off.

"However," she then finished with a little more steel in her tones, "that doesn't excuse him for his utterly thoughtless behaviour last night. And asking you down for a meeting this morning when you're quite obviously exhausted and would be better off on bed rest!? That man has got a piece of my mind coming to him!" she exclaimed in frustration, although Ellie quickly intervened here and stated that she wouldn't be able to relax properly until all the details were worked out.

Magda had nodded in understanding, and then slipped down off of the chair she had been sitting on. "I'll take this to the kitchen now dearie, and I'll see you later on." She said, making her way to the door. As she opened it a commotion was heard outside, as three smaller Oompa Loompa's skittered to a halt, apparently arguing as to who was going to knock on the door. This, it turned out was the delegation of young people who were designated as tour guides to the residential and recreational parts of the factory.

With one final smile of encouragement Magda told Ellie that she would leave them in the good hands of the younger generation, and then headed on her way. First she would stop off at the kitchen to deliver her lists there for those on cooking duties that day, then she would take herself off to the office.

It was time for her to have a word with Willy Wonka and inform him of all she had learned that morning, and tell him exactly what she thought of his behaviour. Although she would be gentle about it as she knew that he had only acted as he had out of what he believed to be the best interests of his guests. Now he knew better, although Magda was hoping that in time Ellie would be persuaded to let Willy take on some of those duties, at least on occasions she was feeling the worse for wear as she so obviously was right now.

James, who had sat quietly with the rest of the Bucket family while Ellie had conducted her business with Magda quickly introduced the three youths (Sarach, Mannie, and Jin) to them. Then, realising he was no longer needed, he instructed the boys to make sure that appointments were made for the family at the medical facilities once they had finished the tour, and headed off to begin his normal Sunday routine.


	15. After the tour - Reflections

Hello again all... Thanks to those who are now following this story, and those who have favourited it and Missed Opportunity. I hope that I'm managing to colour in the various reactions of the characters alright here. As I'm no longer following the film material, it feels a little like a shock in the dark...

Anyway - Enjoy! :-)

* * *

After the Tour

Ellie sat in the kitchen with a soothing cup of tea, with Magda seated next to her. She wasn't due to meet with Mr Wonka for a further fifteen minutes yet, and the boys had set a fast pace on their tour. Ellie wasn't sure she would be able to find her way again were she to try. Magda smiled cheekily at her and commented that this was one reason Willy used the Wonkavator to make his way round the factory.

It had shocked her that they never exited the building once during their tour. She had thought that they would need to as part of going from the residential quarters to the social ones. However, she soon found that they got there by going down into the depths of the factory, and along some amazingly bright and airy corridors.

The light seemed strangely natural for a floor which was several below ground level, as the boys had informed them they were with glee. Ellie would never have guessed it could be so. Charlie had looked in astonished awe as the boys attached the grandparents wheelchairs onto some of the stairs one behind another. It was soon explained that these were like gently sloping escalators, and once the chairs were fastened securely would take them down to the bottom of the factory.

Once they were all safely down on the ground level (there had been so many floor changes Ellie had lost count), they walked along a long corridor, before heading up another set of stairs from where they would eventually enter one of the cleanest shopping centre areas Ellie had ever been in.

This part of the journey was done in stages however, with the first floor being a mere three steps up from the corridor. They had to progress to the other end of the building to reach the steps up to the shopping centre and other parts of the building. While they were still on the entrance level, she realised she could detect the faint scent of chlorine, which the boys explained was coming from the swimming pool which was on this floor. They walked along the corridors, passing glass cabinets full of what looked like tiny space suits. Finally Grandma Georgina broke and asked what they were for.

It had been Sarach who had answered her, from his seat on Grandpa George's lap (the Oompa Loompa's had quickly decided the best way for them to travel was to hitch a lift on the wheel chairs). "They're our ice skating suits – keep us safe from the worst of the cold in that room. Otherwise we'd not be able to spend much more than five minutes there." The family were slowly coming to see just how warm the Oompa Loompa's preferred to be, so this explanation was taken at face value.

The rest of the tour quickly became a jumble of images in Ellie's mind. There was so much of it. She commented briefly on this in her Father-in-Law's hearing, and he immediately asked her how she thought he and Charlie had felt the day before. What did stand out to her though was the library. That room appealed to her, and the notice about a mothers reading group immediately caught her interest – until she realised that it took place while she was at work. Charlie had seemed pretty excited about the Library as well, commenting that it would be a wonderful place to do his homework, and that he hoped he'd be able to spend some time on the computers as well.

His first exclamation had pulled the information that between the hours of five and six there was a homework club held in the library, though they could really do with another adult to help run it. Despite the lack, he would be more than welcome to join them – and there were usually several older Oompa Loompa's about in case someone got stuck. Apparently Wonka and James Wilkenson did their best to turn up at least a few times a week as well.

When Grandma Josephine commented that she wouldn't expect such busy men to have time to help out at a homework club, Jin had quickly spoke up in defence of the idea. "Oh, they're too busy to join us every night, but they do try to make it two to three times a week. Willy says that his future work force are important to him as much as those who are already working for him. He wants to know us all as well as he can, and that's done by spending time with us. He wants to be able to help us if we get stuck on something, as that develops trust, which will be important later on. He and James feel they'll better be able to tell if there is something up with us, or if we're trying to pretend we're fit for work when we really aren't. They've both caught all of us out on several occasions!" he admitted with a shy smile.

In some ways, it went against the grain for the boys to be so open with these strangers, but Willy and James had assured them that they wanted the family to know what life here was like – inside and out.

With the Library tour complete, the boys insisted on pulling the family upstairs to the medical area, and registering for both medical and dental check up's. Mannie had even gone as far as to pull out one of the doctors when Ellie tried to object due to the expense. The doctor had taken one look at her and insisted she fill in the forms he had for her, telling her that whenever Mr Wilkenson had friends or family to visit they had to submit to the same appointments, despite the fact they usually stayed only a few days, and no charge was applied there.

Still feeling slightly as if they were being forced to accept 'charity' Ellie reluctantly did so – leaving the 'current medical practice' boxes blank as there was no way the family could afford such luxuries as going to the doctor.

Ten minutes later she had found herself dropped off at this kitchen, a few floors down from where they had eaten breakfast, enjoying the gentle mothering she was offered from Magda. They had then had a wonderful conversation, with Magda telling her more about the factory, and asking for her thoughts on the tour. When she heard how excited Ellie was about the Library, Magda commented gently that they were looking for another librarian. Their current ones were focussing mostly on either what books they wanted to purchase, organising said books, and on training the library users on the use of the new computers. The new one would be responsible for running the various groups in the library, including the homework club the boys had mentioned, and the mothers reading club Ellie had seen the poster for.

When Ellie looked rather confused at being given this information, Magda had made her point far clearer. "Ellie, I know for a fact that you are to be given the choice of retaining your work outside the factory, or to take one of a selection of jobs which we currently need filling." Then as Ellie was going to object Magda held up her hand. "Believe me Ellie, we haven't invented any of these jobs, each of them have been needed for a while now, but we couldn't fill them while everyone was running about daft preparing for the tour. Now the tour is over Willy and James are going to start focussing on what we need to do to get everything running the way they like it again.

"We need attendants in the various leisure facilities, specifically in the ice rink and climbing wall areas. We need people who are willing to help train the youngsters in how businesses run and shops. We need someone to help run the knitting club – that's practically fallen apart since the lady who used to run it retired. There's a need for receptionists, and many other kinds of workers in the medical department. The nursery and various educational establishments have a need for staff..." She trailed off for a while as she thought about the people who could fill those roles, before finishing her sentence. "and while we have got some candidates who would be good for one or two of the roles, we really don't have enough people with the right skills for all of them. So take your pick!"

Silence had fallen, as Ellie finished her drink and contemplated all she had seen and heard that day. She was prone to thinking that Willy only showed the interest that he did in his workers because it was good for business, but she admitted to herself that she didn't know the man, so couldn't really judge his motives that well. And she was somewhat jealous of the deep affection that Charlie had developed for him so swiftly for him. She was the one who had worked so hard, and denied herself so many things for her son, and now he seemed to be defecting to a man he barely knew, a stranger he had only met the day before.

She had admitted as much to her parents in a quiet moment the day before, and they had understood her struggles completely, but assured her that she was worrying unnecessarily. That had also been when they had teased her about possibly developing an affection for the man. Given how prickly she had become at the very idea they were soon rather sorry at how they had teased her though. She had soon set them straight, telling them that beyond the way Charlie looked upon him she was indifferent to the man – and honestly couldn't see why her son was so taken with him.

It didn't help that it seemed everyone was looking to see some kind of affection developing between the two adults, but Ellie actually felt there was more chance of her coming to think about James Wilkinson that way than about Willy Wonka. Not that she really thought about James that way either, but of the two he was the one more likely to appeal to her – less flamboyant, quieter, and careful to think for the emotions of others. If Charlie wanted to adopt Willy as an uncle, she would be more comfortable with the idea of James as her brother. But then, she didn't feel jealous of James.

She sighed and drained her cup, standing up as she did so. Magda was next to her in an instant, giving her a last warm hug, and a gentle suggestion that she remember that Willy wasn't a wolf out on the prowl, hunting her lone chick, but more like someone else who only wanted to do his best for the boy. In his own way, Willy already cared as much about Charlie as she did, and the best way to treat this appointment was to look on it as a plan of action for the adults to decide what the best way forwards for the boy was.

Ellie was just freeing herself from Magda's arms when a knock came at the door, it opened a moment later to show her father sitting there waiting. "Time for us to go Ellie love" called out Georgina.

Ellie whispered her thanks to Magda, and then slipped out the door to join her parents as they went along to the ostentatious room Willy inhabited. They had been told all about it by Charlie and Joe earlier on in the day, and Mannie was with them to lead the way. He would then return to the Mountain Suite where he would join his friends along with Charlie and his other grandparents until the others returned. Apparently the other boys were teaching Charlie some traditional Oompa Loompa games, and he had been having a great time fooling around with them all until it was time for Mannie to show Grandma Georgina and Grandpa George along to Magda's kitchen.


	16. After the Tour - Meeting with Willy

Far too quickly they arrived at the office, and Mannie knocked at the door, before pushing it open. They were expected of course, and Willy called them in as Mannie waved cheerfully and left, reminding them that it would be James Wilkinson who took them back to their quarters at the end of the meeting.

Despite being warned about it, Ellie couldn't help but gape at the room of halved objects. Almost the only thing in the room which wasn't cut in half was a lightbulb in the lamp, and the lamp itself was halved as well. She wondered if Wonka wrote with half a pencil, or pen. If it was the latter he'd no doubt get covered in ink every time he tried to write, though Charlie had mentioned a huge feather quill to her the day before. It seemed to fit the man in front of her – a complete mix of quirky (and rather annoying to her mind) and old fashioned – such as his outfit. He was pretending to be a gentleman from the British Victorian period in some ways she thought.

Having given all three of his visitors a chance to get over their shock at his somewhat unusual surroundings Willy greeted them. "Good day to you Sir, Madam, Mrs Bucket. Please, come take a seat." He gestured to the half stool which stood to the side of his desk, as George and Georgina were in wheel chairs there was no need to provide separate seating for them. Ellie glanced at the seat in askance, before gingerly perching on it. Willy noted this and gently told her "nothing to worry about dear lady, you are perfectly safe."

Unfortunately, this seemed to exacerbate her lack of ease in the situation, and she snapped back. "I think I'll be the judge of that Mr Wonka!" she exclaimed. "And I'd rather you didn't refer to me in that disparaging fashion!" Willy took a step back in the face of her displeasure, before responding "'An apology might help, but you can change your life without one...' (Robin Quivers) 'There is no respect for others, without humility in one's self.' (Henri Frederick Amiel)." Unfortunately this apparently did no more than incense the family further. "It would help the situation if you did not try to wrap the situation up in gibberish Mr Wonka!" George stated furiously.

A moment later a light tap came at a door Ellie hadn't noticed before, and James Wilkenson poked his head round. "If I might interpret sir?" he asked Wonka quietly. Receiving a nod of acceptance he looked at the rest of the party in the room "what Willy was saying there translates as "a thousand apologies, I was merely using the appellation as a sign of respect."" Then the man smiled, bade them all 'goodbye' and withdrew whence he came.

Ellie looked up into what she came to realise were currently the rather pleading eyes of Mr Wonka, while Georgina patted Georges arm comfortingly. Then she decided it was time to make some kind of more informed response to the man's latest reply. "That's all very well, and thank you for explaining it." She started more calmly "I would however prefer it if you were to simply call me 'Ellie' or 'Mrs Bucket' if there is a need for greater formality." As the man acknowledged the request she continued on. "Now, I believe there was a specific reason for your asking us down for this meeting?" she asked him.

Willy looked at her and fiddled with his cuffs in his uncertainty. Normally he wasn't so hesitant with people, and didn't mind what they thought about him, but these were Charlie's mother and grandparents, and their opinions did matter, especially as they were going to be living in the factory.

"Yes, Ellie, I did have a real purpose to asking you to join me today. I need to tender another apology to you for my behaviour last night. I'm sorry, it simply didn't occur to me that I was doing anything untoward – indeed, my relationship with everyone else here is such that they would think nothing of my comforting their children should I realise they might need some help or be in distress. I just failed to realise that this was due to how well I know them and therefore it would be different with you." As his voice trailed off, Georgina spoke without thinking. "See! You can make a decent apology!"

Willy took a moment and refocused on her. "'Patience and time do more than strength or passion...' (Jean De La Fontaine) 'We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live, they travel far.' (Swami Vivekananda)" Towards the end of this Willy slapped his hand over his mouth, but he failed to stop the sound of the words reaching their ears. As the three of them were looking at each other in confusion a muffled voice came from beyond the closed door "Ah, but only when he has the time to think about it!"

At this, Ellie burst out laughing and called towards the door "Mr Wilkenson!" A few seconds later the man popped his head round the door. "There's no way you cannot hear everything that's said in this office. If you haven't too much to do, why don't you join us. It might make things far easier all round!"

Amazingly enough, by the end of this speech, everyone was smiling, and the atmosphere in the room, which had been rather strained before this, was somewhat diffused. James quickly agreed that he would join them, and slipping back into his room he swiftly fetched a chair before closing the door behind him and sitting down. Ellie noted that his chair was also split down the middle, and vaguely wondered if it might be the other half of the one she was sitting on.

The meeting then ranged over a broad spectrum of subjects, starting with Ellie's preferences for her own work – where she admitted that she was interested in one of the library jobs, but wasn't sure that she wanted to give up her job in the laundry as it got her out of the factory grounds for a specific purpose. Willy suggested that she take the next few weeks as a complete holiday from the laundry and start by resting up for a bit. Then she could check out the library and other places she might like to work, and if she wanted to try some of them once she was back at work she could. Then that decision would be taken over time – but that Willy didn't want any of them to feel confined to the factory. They were all to feel free to wander outside of it whenever they wanted to.

The Oompa Loompa's did prefer to stay inside, but that wasn't because he, or anyone, had forbidden them to go out. They tended to find the climate rather too cold for their liking, and had also felt people who saw them had a negative reaction due to how different they were to others. Because of this they preferred to stay in the factory, and Willy felt it his duty, on being the person who had brought them here, to provide leisure activities for them. This therefore extended to Charlie and his family as they were there on his say so.

The conversation naturally moved on to how Charlie's grandparents would spend their time in the factory. Georgina promptly answered that both she and Josephine were interested in the knitting club and possibly helping out with some of the child care and education needs, and that George had expressed an interest in learning how the computers worked. She didn't mention Joe, but Willy could already guess what he would be interested in. "I'm going to take it that Joe would enjoy working in the factory proper the most?" The look of chagrin on Ellie's face answered that question for him, but Willy forbore to comment much, merely stating that he couldn't forbid Joe to work in that area if he granted the wishes of everyone else.

George did ask about whether the grandparents were in fact too old to be working, And Willy immediately responded that that was why everyone in the factory had regular medical appointments. The last thing he needed was someone working when they weren't fit for it. And this included people working outside of it. Jobs could be changed and made to fit what people were fit enough for, as those who were old enough to retire generally found they quickly got bored with nothing to do. Willy suspected that was chiefly what was wrong with Charlie's grandparents... Well, that and not enough good food, and muscle wastage, he admitted to himself, but they'd be able to help fix all of that in the factory.

Ellie looked ready to object at this, but Willy informed her that this was non-negotiable. The medical services weren't paid for, all the staff were paid by their request in Cacao beans, and that generally meant in terms of food, housing, and leisure activities for them and their families. The medications were made either in-house or bought in, and their training was taken care of by the factory. There was nothing to pay for. It took a while, but eventually Ellie accepted that given they would all have some kind of employment within the factory this was covered, especially when Wonka reminded her that this was covered by the fact that Charlie was now his heir, and would expect to have all the needs of himself, and his family, taken care of. The factory would be no use to him if it couldn't help his family out now.

Then the conversation moved onto Charlie. Willy started by asking Ellie what her plans were for the boy. "Well, the plans were that he'd continue on at school until he's about fourteen. Then, because of how much we needed the money, he'd be able to leave and start helping to support the family. So that would be two more years at school, and then a formal job. Beyond that I hadn't thought much on the subject. I don't know what your schools here are like, but I want him to spend the rest of this year there at the very least – I don't want him to lose his friends there."

Willy surveyed her gravely. "Ellie." His voice was gentle, "As much as I'm sure the Oompa Loompa's would welcome him into any of their classes, I tend to believe it is better for Charlie to finish his education in his current school. With your permission, I would suggest that he has what's left of this school year, that's something like nine months until the summer holidays I think, as he is right now. Then we can look to arrange for him to begin in an apprentice programme with us."

He looked at Ellie, and spotted that while she looked uncertain she didn't look too ready to object. "We can, naturally, revisit the subject each year, and I'm not anticipating that it will be a full blown apprenticeship at that stage, just that we ask the school to start tailoring his education so that he learns some of the things which will be useful for his eventual employment, and maybe also to come home slightly early a few days a week so that he can get a little practical experience during the week as well. Then, as the years go on, with his agreement, make it ever more tailored, so that he is here more often, and his programme is more closely tied to his eventual working life as well. That way, over the course of the years, he can complete his full education, learn all he needs to know, and have a gradual progression to his new life as future owner of Wonka's chocolate factory."

Ellie looked at him in stunned disbelief. "I can still scarcely believe that you are going to give the factory to him like that." She suddenly commented. James smiled at her as Willy looked on, unsure what to say. "It is a bit of a culture shock I'm sure." James answered for him in the end as he thought about the journey he took to his employment in the chocolate factory, and the surprise the Oompa Loompa's received when Willy eventually got all the paperwork sorted to import his unusual workers in. For all Willy had told them about the place they were coming to, they never imagined anything like what they saw when they reached the place.

This gave Willy a few more seconds to formulate a response of his own. "Give yourself time Ellie." He said quietly. "It only happened yesterday, and the next thing you know you're here and trying to adjust to the changes that living with so many others brings with it. As we make the first few decisions, and you actually see the reality of life here I'm sure it will become easier for you to accept that this is actually real. Now, have you sorted in your head when you're going to have your normal family times?"

Ellie rambled on a little, mentioning various different times – such as Sundays when she was thinking about having family meals, and the time after their evening meal on school days as Charlie had to leave the house before his grandparents were up on time on those days.

Willy let most of the flow of her words pass over him, but jotted down the different times she mentioned as being very definitely family time. Then he asked her what her opinion was on him asking Charlie to spend some time with him once he got back from school each day.

Eille very promptly told him it would be fine, once his paper round was done, and he had done a reasonable amount of work on his homework. She didn't want that getting left just because Charlie wanted to spend time with Wonka. "I'll make sure he spends plenty of time at the Homework Club ." Wonka responded, "As for the paper round, how about we give Charlie the option on that one?" Once again Ellie objected, firstly to the idea of involving Charlie. Willy pointed out that he had given her the option when it came to her own job, and the family didn't need the money as much they had in the past. At that, Ellie told him she doubted Charlie would choose to give his job up, with a flash of something Willy couldn't quite decipher in her smile. "I'm very pleased to hear that Ellie." He eventually responded, "honouring ones commitments like that is always a good thing. However, that doesn't mean I shouldn't at least ask him for his opinion on the matter. I am not saying I want him to give it up – the paper round will give him plenty of exercise, have him out in the fresh air, mean that he doesn't lose touch with the outside world, and will give him the chance to keep up to date with things happening in the world today. I am not advocating him giving up his job – it was one of the things which appealed to me when I read about the last ticket finder. However, Charlie is old enough to have a job now, so he is also old enough to decide whether he wants to continue in it, now he no longer has to do so and has other opportunities waiting for him. The time may come when he feels it is right to give it up – maybe there will be another boy who needs it more than he does. Will you countenance my asking him?"

Ellie glanced at Wonka in suspicion, as if not sure she could trust him not to pitch the question so that Charlie would choose to give up his work. Then she made her thoughts clear when she stated that she would do so, only if she was also present when he asked Charlie for his thoughts. "Done!" stated Willy with a smile, though inwardly he was wondering how he could get Ellie to realise he wasn't trying to undermine her authority with Charlie. As much as he knew he meant to the boy, Willy knew that if forced to choose between his mother and Wonka, he would naturally (and quite rightly) side with his mother.

Willy was doing everything he could to make sure that they were never in such a position, but it seemed like Ellie was leaning towards making the situation a possibility. Maybe she just wanted to prove to Wonka that she, and the rest of his family, meant more to the boy than he, a relative stranger ever could. Willy wasn't sure, but he didn't know how else to explain her behaviour.

With that concluded, the most important reasons for the meeting had been achieved, and as it was past midday Willy suggested that they go and meet the rest of the family for lunch. James, acting as social mediator for the group, checked to make sure that Ellie and her parents didn't seem too distressed at the idea as they all headed along to the Mountain Range Suite.


	17. After the Tour - Lunch Time

As they stood talking at the door, they heard the Oompa Loompa's inside starting to make their apologies. Then, the three of them came barrelling out, pausing to give polite greetings to Ellie and her parents before flinging themselves on Willy and James – each of whom caught one of the flying Oompa Loompa's (with Jin clinging to Willy's leg) and swinging them about a bit (Willy swinging the leg with Jin clinging to it fore and back as he twisted his upper body in different directions). Then an excited, but brief, conversation took place between the five of them.

Ellie looked onto the scene in bewilderment as the men gently placed the Oompa Loompa's back on the ground and waved them off to enjoy what was left of their day. She could understand James treating the boys like that, but Willy was a surprise. It definitely didn't fit her expectations of the way the man would behave. He surely couldn't care about them as real people could he? He just looked on them as machines, people who worked for him, who he could do what he liked with – creating fantasy worlds for them to live in so they thought they had it better in the prison he had created for them than outside of it, or fired them when they became too much bother. She should have told him where to stuff his job offer!

Not knowing what was going on inside Ellie's head, James suggested to the rest of the party that they join them and head along to the communal kitchen to sort out a bite of lunch. The sound of his voice called Joe, Josephine, and Charlie out to meet everyone. Charlie's smile grew even bigger when he saw Wonka, and he ran over to the man and gave him a big hug – reminiscent of the way the Oompa Loompa's had greeted both the men a few minutes before.

Joe walked over to his daughter-in-law and placed his hand on her shoulder. "How did it go?" He asked her sympathetically. Ellie looked up and saw the concern and love on his face. He knew exactly how much she had been dreading the meeting. "Not bad Dad." She admitted quietly. Actually, it had gone better than 'not bad,' given all, but she didn't want to say that much yet. "Good." Joe responded, satisfied. Ellie seemed more relaxed than she had been, if not totally at peace about the whole situation. A few minutes passed and they finally reached the kitchen where the two men set about organising a meal for the group. It was light, tasty, and nutritious – and included a little more of the soup they had had the previous evening, just half the amount, plus a few sandwiches between them.

Lunchtime itself passed fairly quickly, as Charlie and the grandparents who had remained with him told the rest of the party about the time they had spent with the three Oompa Loompa boys. Charlie admitted that while they were slightly young in their outlook for him, he thought they could be good friends. He was shocked when he discovered that they were actually several years older than he was, but that Oompa Loompa's were counted as children for years longer than human children, and were often into their thirties before they had their first paying job. They would be twenty-five before their formal education was finished, and then they would enter job-specific training which would help them prepare for the task they wanted to spend their lives on. They did live rather longer than humans though, and many were well into their hundred-and-fifty's before they began to consider retirement – though that normally meant to a less demanding job, and some still pulled an occasional shift at the job they had spent most of their lives in.

Lunch finally concluded, and once the clear up had been taken care of Willy was ready to take Charlie off with him for the afternoon. Just before they left though Ellie decided to interrupt them – she wanted this nonsense about Charlie quitting the newspaper sorted now.

"One moment boys!" she called out as they moved closer to the door. When they paused she turned to Willy. "Did you have something you wanted to ask Charlie, Mr Wonka?" she asked him. Willy looked at her in shock. "I have many things I wish to ask Charlie as time goes on Mrs Bucket." He replied truthfully, letting her dictate the amount of familiarity there was in their addressing each other. "Something about his job with the paper, Sir!" she barked at him sharply. "Ah!" Willy responded in realisation. Then he crouched down so he was more on Charlie's level before continuing.

"Charlie, my dear boy..." at this Ellie cleared her throat in annoyance, causing them both to look over at him as she glared at Wonka. He decided that he couldn't do anything about her at that moment and returned his focus to her son. "One of the things I admired about you when I read about you in the papers was the fact you had got a job over the last few months to help support your family." He continued on, ignoring the sceptical comment from Charlie's Mom of "I very much doubt that!" which caused the boy to glance over at her in anguish. Willy squeezed his shoulder, trying to offer whatever comfort he could, before continuing.

"As it is your work, I wanted to ask your opinion on whether you want to continue with it now that it is no longer vital. I am happy either way – this is your job Charlie, you can continue in it, or give it up as you would like." Ellie snorted at that, but both males ignored her this time, with Charlie focussing on Wonka.

He appeared to think for a few minutes before responding. "I think I understand your giving me the choice Wonka" he replied quietly, "after all, if I didn't want to do it anymore, I'd probably do it badly, and that wouldn't be good for either Mr Joepeck or the factory, given I will be known to be associated with both." He trailed off for another few minutes before continuing on. "I think I'll continue on, at least for now. I quite like my round, it's great exercise for starters, and Mr Joepeck is relying on me, I wouldn't want to let him down. Maybe I'll tell him that if he knows of someone who needs the work more to let me know. Otherwise I'll quite happily continue on working for him."

The end of his statement was interrupted by a muttered "I told you so!" from his mother. Charlie glanced over in puzzlement. What was wrong with his Mom? Why did she hate Mr Wonka so much? Wonka ignored her again, and told Charlie that he was pleased that he had made such a decision. Then he suggested that Charlie join him for their afternoons work. At this Ellie interrupted again, instructing him to have Charlie back by 4:30pm – which Charlie felt was a bit nasty, seeing the man had asked if Charlie could be with him until 5pm a few hours before, and Ellie had acquiesced at that point. Wonka merely nodded his head in acknowledgement and started to head out the door. That was, until he felt Charlie's hand pulling against his arm as Charlie stood his ground, looking back at his Mom.

"Why am I not allowed to be friends with Wonka Mom?" he asked, determined to understand the situation more. Ellie looked at him in disbelief. "You are allowed to be friends with Mr Wonka Charlie – don't be silly!" she replied. Charlie stood his ground. "No, I'm not – I can't be given the way you've been treating him this afternoon. Last night Grandpa Joe told me that I'd obviously made a good friend in him, and to hold on for all I was worth, so I'm doing it – I want to know what problem you've got with him so that we can sort it out!"

Ellie was about to laugh it off when her father came round and backed him up. "We've all seen it Ellie." He told her quietly. Ellie hung her head a little as Charlie explained his point a bit more. "Would you have treated Mr Wilkenson the same way if you'd found him trying to comfort me last night Mom?" Ellie automatically responded, correcting him "James." Charlie looked at her in stunned disbelief. "Mr Wilkenson Mom! You've taught me to call all adult men I don't know like that and you know it! I don't even call Wonka by his first name, and he has asked me to. Mr Wilkenson hasn't, and I'm sorry, but even if he did I couldn't do it – it wouldn't feel right. It doesn't feel right for Wonka, and it definitely doesn't seem right for Mr Wilkenson."

Then he turned to the other man concerned. "I'm sorry sir, but you were too scary when I met you as Mr Slugworth on Friday. Your picture was the only one I jumped at on the boat ride through the factory. I'm going to try and overcome it, but it will take time. I can try and call you by some kind of compromise if you're like Wonka and would rather not be called 'Mr' all the time when you're in your home." He continued on, a slight edge to his voice as he finished the statement, glancing towards his Mom who he had noticed was constantly 'Mr-ing' Wonka just now.

James smiled at the confused, and certainly upset boy in front of him. Dealing with so much, and yet taking the time to consider his preferences? Not many children would do that. So, with a gentling of his expression he suggested that if he would like to, Charlie could refer to him as 'Wilke' which was what his school mates had done so when they were at school, and not supposed to call each other by their first names.

Finally Ellie responded to Charlie. "I'm sorry Charlie, I suppose that there has just been so much change, and you care so much about him I dreaded losing you. I was trying to remind you that I am your Mom!" Charlie looked over at her in exasperation. "So it was fear of being hurt once again!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "I'd so hoped that that instinct would have been overcome by the time you became an adult, but obviously not. There's so much upset at school because people act out because they're scared someone else will hurt them if they don't! It's a bit disappointing that it continues on into adulthood really!" he mused out loud, much to the surprise of the various adults around him.

Then he walked over to where his Mom was standing and gave her a hug. "You will always be my Mom, for better or worse and I will always love you, but you cannot always keep me close. You do have to let me go and learn and grow and become my own person. For whatever reason, you trust Wilke more than I do, and I trust Wonka more than you do. But if you look at the way the Oompa Loompa's react to them, they're the ones who know them and have placed their lives in the mens hands after all..." he broke off, realising he'd lost his train of thought. "Oh well, that doesn't make exact sense, but you get my meaning when I say the Oompa Loompa's love them both, and trust them both equally – not just one or the other as we do. I'm going to try and overcome my distrust of Wilke, if only because I know that he's not really as creepy as he made himself out to be the first time I met him. Can you do the same for Wonka, knowing that despite how you feel about him right now, he's just another person who cares about your family and wants only the best for us all?"

Ellie clung to him, having been stung and even more concerned that she had pushed her son away by her jealous reaction to his friend. Now he was freely trying to offer her what comfort he could. Eventually she had to let go of him though, and she reluctantly sent him towards the door and his afternoon with Wonka before turning to the rest of the party, knowing that at least some of them would be waiting to talk her reactions over with her.

As Wonka lead Charlie away for the afternoon she called out after them "See you at Five Charlie!" The boy looked back and grinned at her. "Will do, Thanks Mom!" Feeling relieved, and slightly less guilty now Ellie was able to turn her attention back to the rest of the group and the serious chat they were no doubt going to have to have.


	18. Into the Afternoon - First Concerns

Well, hello again all! Thank you once again for the reviews Turrislucidus. And to those who followed, thank you as well. My apologies for the various chapter update notifications you must have received yesterday. I decided to see what it would be like to decrease chapter length, so went through and split the previous chapters. The one I'm currently starting to post was getting to big even for myself. Hopefully by splitting it down a bit I can stop it from overwhelming. Most chapters are now roughly between 2000 and 4000 words long, though very few actually break 3000. This one is slightly shorter than 2000 words in itself... Once again, it would be great to know what you think of this.

Thanks for your patience! ;-)

Anything you recognise from elsewhere doesn't belong to me unless otherwise stated...

* * *

Charlie and Willy walked off together in the direction of the inventing room, both relaxing somewhat as they left the rather fraught atmosphere behind. Neither of them commented much on the experience they had just had, but relished being in each other's company. A few minutes into their walk, Charlie put his arms around Wonka and gave him another hug, causing the older man to pause in confusion, before he quickly hugged back. Letting go a few moments later he asked Charlie what he was thinking.

Embarrassed, Charlie hung his head a little, and mumbled something Willy couldn't quite catch. Willy laughed as he remembered how he had reacted to Mike the day before. Gently he slipped two of his fingers beneath Charlie's chin and encouraged him to lift his head to face the man. "you know Charlie..." he commented conversationally, "I may not have been entirely accurate when I told Mike that I couldn't hear him yesterday, but I was telling the truth when I mentioned that I'm a little deaf in one ear, and even his mumbles were rather louder than what you just achieved, so I had no chance whatsoever of hearing whatever you said there!"

Charlie started by giving his mentor another long hug, before he pulled back and condescended to give him an answer. "I missed you." He admitted with a shrug. When Wonka looked at him, and then pointed out that it had hardly been twenty-four hours since they last met up, less than twelve, given their post midnight conversation that morning.

"That doesn't make any difference to my missing you Wonka!" Charlie exclaimed. "And then when I do see you again, Mom seems utterly furious with you, and I don't really understand why, and it spoils things. We were all so happy, and now she's upset, and I don't understand it." Surreptitiously Charlie swiped at his eyes, in a movement which was suspiciously like wiping away tears.

Wonka's face softened as he remembered that for all his maturity, and the way he thought things through, Charlie was only a twelve year old boy, and one who had had his life turned on its head overnight. You could have immense understanding of people and motives in your head, but not be anywhere near ready to deal with those situations in your heart. Willy suddenly realised that it was possible that he and Ellie weren't being exactly fair on Charlie. Without even meaning to, they were placing extra burdens on him. Half of Wonka's plan when inviting the family to stay in the factory had been to give him time and a chance to be a boy again. Now he was already having to deal with the minefield of how his Mom was reacting to Willy, as well as his own emotional reactions.

Sighing he tousled Charlie's hair, causing the boy to shy away a bit. "Hey!" Charlie called out, batting an arm at the offending hand. Finally Willy spoke again. "I'm sorry Charlie. I wish I knew another way around this. Some other way we could get to the place we need to be at. And now I'm going to ask you to make another decision. Can you handle the adult world long enough for that at least?" he asked quietly, hoping this wasn't asking too much of the boy. If Charlie protested in any way he'd take him to one of the playgrounds for the afternoon, and cancel his plans for a serious conversation and some work in the inventing room. Quickly he made a mental note that he would have to schedule his time with Charlie carefully, so they had the chance to just play together (or for Wonka to spend time with Charlie while he played at least) at least some of the time. It might seriously mess up his work schedule for the day, and he might have to work into the early hours of the morning instead, but he'd been prepared to make that sacrifice for the tour the day before, so doing so for Charlie would be no trouble in the least.

Charlie smiled at the man again. "It's alright, I'll happily make a decision Wonka. It was just I was so longing for some time I could put aside to spend especially with you, and for one reason or another it kept having to be put off, and tomorrow I'll have to go to school, and then Mom took a hate at you... And I began to feel that everything was going wrong, and all I wanted to do was be with you. For some reason, I feel better when I'm with you. It doesn't feel so strange and scary when you're around, so I'm constantly looking for you."

On hearing this Wonka dropped to his knees and opened his arms, offering Charlie the chance of another hug, which the boy responded to by practically jumping into his arms. "Oh my dear boy. No wonder you were so desperate for a hug earlier on!" Wonka said affectionately. "We've got this afternoon to spend together though – it's only half past one, and we have until five. I'm sorry you feel so bewildered and apprehensive here. I wish I could spend more time with you, but we've got to remember your Mom and Grandparents need to spend time with you as well, and that your Mom in particular will be upset if you seem to be neglecting them to spend time with me." Wonka drew back from the hug to observe Charlie as he made this serious statement, but the boy didn't seem too distressed at this point.

"I'll see what I can do about managing to join you where you are likely to be as much as possible. Maybe I can schedule in attending the homework club more often for example. I'll also speak to the Oompa's about a comfort and protection thing. Maybe a blanket, or a soft toy. That's if you're not too big for one of those!" Wonka teased gently.

Charlie looked at him and shrugged. " I don't know that it's possible to be too big for something you've never experienced." He pointed out quietly, turning away as if expecting his friend to reject him on hearing that. "Never had a soft toy?" Wonka exclaimed in shock. "Well, we'll have to remedy that one post haste." He stated, eyes twinkling as he also thought about possibly including some action figures of some description, to let Charlie have something with the 'comfort and protection' stuff inside that he could take in his backpack to school. Willy knew enough about children to realise that if the others thought Charlie had soft toys with him in his bag they would tease him horribly, but that action figures, especially ones of some select inmates of the factory, could be seen as 'cool.'

"What was your question Wonka?" Charlie asked him, breaking through into his thoughts. "My question?" Willy repeated, not quite recalling what they had been talking about before.

Charlie smiled up at his mentor, it seemed he wasn't the only one scrambled by the events of the day. "You know... You said you hoped I'd be able to deal with making a decision before we got off onto why I was feeling as I am. I told you that I thought I should be OK for that. But I can't if I don't know what the choice is!" he pointed out. Willy nodded as he suddenly caught up with Charlie. "Ah! That question! Good point!" he responded with a smile. "You're right, you do have a choice to make. Originally I was planning that we spend a little while in the inventing room, maybe see if we can play around with the fizzy lifting juice a bit, and talk a bit about how this apprenticeship will work out in day to day life, plus any other expectations we have. I'm now wondering if it would be better to shelve that for a bit and just chill out together – go play in one of the adventure rooms instead. What do you think?"

Charlie paused for a bit. The idea of exploring the inventing room a bit more, and seeing what it was really like when experiments were going on was quite appealing. The idea of hashing out some of the details of what life here might be like also caught his fancy, but these ideas were posed against the thought of Willy himself taking him round one of the exciting rooms he had heard about earlier on. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed his tour earlier on in the day. The boys had been fun to spend time with. It was just that he had felt that something was missing. He hadn't realised what it was until he had seen Wonka for the first time. The morning had been his first experience of being in any part of the factory without Wonka introducing him to it first, and that had felt wrong.

Sighing, Charlie decided he couldn't afford to pay much attention to that. He couldn't expect to take up all Wonka's time with being introduced to the factory, and he did need to start forming relationships with the various Oompa Loompa's – especially seeing they were likely to be around years after Charlie himself had died. Suddenly Charlie realised that at some point in the future he could easily be in the same position Wonka was in, looking for a reliable, trustworthy child he could train up to take over the factory and look after the Oompa Loompa's for him in the future. This idea proved to be very sobering as he looked at all he had to live up to.

"Charlie?" Willy questioned, wondering what his young apprentice was thinking of now. Willy had already learned that when Charlie got that introspective look on his face he was sure to have had some idea that Willy would never have imagined. "I think I'd rather stick with your original programme, Wonka." Charlie responded cautiously, causing Willy to shake his head as he realised his young apprentice was still somehow on their first topic of conversation.

"Was that what you were just thinking about Charlie?" Willy asked him. Looking up Charlie suddenly became aware that Wonka hadn't actually been asking him to hurry up his decision making as he had assumed. "Oh..." he said trailing off. Then he took a deep breath and rushed through his next sentence. " I just realised that some point in the future I could be in the same position you're in now, having to take on an apprentice to look after the Oompa Loompa's when I'm no longer able to do so." He explained, almost too quickly for Willy to catch. The man smiled at the boy. "You might want to pause a moment between words another time Charlie!" he pointed out, the humour he found in having to point this out showing clearly in his tone. Then he sobered considerably "but yes, it is highly possible that you may well find yourself in a similar position many years in the future." He admitted seriously. "When the time comes you'll be more than ready for the challenge though Charlie, believe me." He stated, trying to impress his complete confidence in this on the boy. "No point in worrying about something that is years away at the moment." Sighing the boy acquiesced to this, and the two continued along the way to the inventing room. "I must remember to use the Wonkavator next time we make this journey." Wonka commented almost to himself as they finally reached the inventing room. Charlie smiled and smothered a giggle at this comment. He could see that he would have no excuse for not being very fit living here!


	19. Back in the Inventing Room

So another week has passed... And I've finally finished splitting my last huge chapter into this post and two others - given it included the last chapter posted I'm thinking it wise I did start chopping them down - at approx 2000 words each that would have been a mega chapter.

Thanks once again to all of my readers - I hope that you're enjoying this!

If you recognise it from elsewhere, chances are it doesn't belong to me.

Back in the Inventing Room

The first thing that was on the cards when they entered the inventing room was to check in with Paddy as to how the strengthening of the Snozberry flavour in the fizzy lifting juice mix was going. Soon Wonka and Paddy were deep in a conversation which flew right over the top of Charlie's head, as they talked about methods of condensing the juice. They didn't want to add too much extra sugar to it as the berry was extremely sweet in and of its own right. That much Charlie understood as he struggled to follow the flow of the conversation, knowing that he would have to learn as he went along here. Sooner or later he would need to develop the ability to join in these conversations, so as tempting as it was to tune out or to wander off and explore the inventing room a little further he determinedly focussed on what the two were saying.

Eventually Wonka turned to him. "Alright there Charlie?" he asked with a gentle smile. Charlie responded to the smile. "Yep, but I hope you don't expect me to be able to write an essay on the conversation you just had. It might as well have been Double Dutch as far as I'm concerned!" Willy glanced at him, suddenly realising that they both had a lot of work to do to enable Charlie to participate in the factory life as much as Wonka wanted him to. "What have they been teaching you in school?!" he asked, half to himself, as he processed this shock.

Charlie took this as a serious question. "I'm currently studying Chemistry, History, English, Maths and Technical Sciences." He responded quietly. As he had expected to be finishing with school a few years down the line it had been felt that five subjects was enough.

"No languages?" Wonka questioned seriously. "No sir, though my Mom did teach me some of the basics when I was younger, and I studied Latin long enough to have a vague understanding of it. Think I stopped it two years ago now." Charlie admitted, suddenly concerned that he must be disappointing the better learned man, though the decision had been taken based on the fact he wasn't expecting to ever require other languages in the future. "I must try to remember not to drop into something other than English until we've had the chance to develop your understanding of some other languages then, though if you know Latin well enough it may not be as difficult as it could be." Wonka responded in a matter of fact tone. While the other subjects Charlie was studying would all help with his new life in one way or another, he would be seriously hindered in communicating with the factory's contacts across the globe if he didn't make at least some attempt to communicate in any language beyond his mother tongue.

Seeing the concern on Charlie's face, Willy squeezed his shoulder gently. "No need to worry about it my dear boy." He stated kindly. "We can work with that. After all "You who speak Languages, you are such liars! (Orson Scott Card)" he finished off with a startling quote which left Charlie gaping at him. A few moments later, on observing his expression, Willy suddenly broke down laughing. "I'm so sorry my boy!" he apologised quickly. "I don't mean to laugh at you, but your expression was just so flabbergasted!" he explained as Charlie glanced accusingly at him.

The boy sighed before getting his own back on his mentor without even realising he was doing it, speaking apropos of nothing, and yet well on track for his current line of thought. "You really don't have to do that with us Wonka!" he exclaimed, before thinking a little more and editing it. "Well, with me or Grandpa Joe at least. I guess I don't really know about the rest of the family." He finished, sighing to himself as he wished everyone would just learn to get on together.

Wonka now experienced the sensation of not quite being sure where the conversation was going. "I'm sorry my boy, would you mind explaining that comment? I'm not quite sure I understand what you're getting at." He admitted quickly, anxious to hear Charlie's explanation. Charlie blushed and looked away, having forgotten that Wonka wasn't privy to his thoughts. "I'm sorry, that was presumptuous." He murmured, not expecting Wonka to really want him to explain his thoughts processes.

The older man simply continued to look at him, eyes sparkling gently at him, somehow conveying the affection that he had for his young pupil. Not that Charlie realised this as he had yet to look back at his mentor again.

After a few minutes had passed with nothing more being said, Wonka allowed himself to speak again. " Well?" he asked once again. Charlie, who had been staring down at his shoes, looked up in surprise. Here he was expecting to be berated for his behaviour, and Wonka was apparently just waiting on him continuing. "Don't you want to tell me off sir?" he asked, trying to work out what Wonka was waiting on.

"Now why would I want to do that?" Wonka asked, now completely lost. Charlie, who had been unable to continue facing him for more than a few seconds earlier on, looked up at him once again, moisture clear in his eyes again. "I was rude. I'm sorry sir, I shouldn't have said that!" he exclaimed, looking like he wanted to run away. "Well what do you think of that?" Willy murmured to himself as he suddenly realised that Charlie had worked himself up so much that he wouldn't realise that he wasn't in any form of trouble.

Quickly putting a gentle hand on the boys shoulder he pulled him over to the wall next to the three meal gum machine. Once they reached the area he sat against the wall, gently encouraging the boy down as well. Charlie didn't take much encouragement to do so, and moments later he had curled up into a ball, snuggling up into Willy's chest.

Willy was stunned, having not quite expected that reaction after the terror of a few moments before. However, having not experienced much physical affection since the time he had closed the factory so many years before he was revelling in having a child who clearly seemed to crave the comfort which could only be gained by the loving touch of another living in the same building. He was quickly coming to believe that despite the fact he had two grandfathers, Charlie was missing a father like role model. Willy didn't really think that he was the person he would have chosen for a father figure, but he wasn't the person to make the choice on this occasion, and maybe even a reclusive candy maker seemed like the better candidate when compared to people who had stayed in bed for twenty or so years.

Willy sat there, gently rubbing the boys back until he felt the fits of shaking which had started soon after they sat down taper off. Then, when Charlie was starting to recover again, Willy spoke.

"Charlie, I promise you, the only thing I would object to in any way in the last half hour was the fact you reverted to calling me 'Sir.' Can you tell me why you did that?" he started off trying to reassure the boy, but also aware that he might struggle with the question as he might not even know the answer to it.

Sure enough, Charlie didn't even try to answer the question, starting in on a completely different line. "You must think me a total cry baby." He stated. Wonka reflexively tightened his protective hold on the boy, before answering affectionately. "Not at all my dear boy, that's the last thing I'd ever think you were."

"But you've only known me two days, and I've already broken down on you several times." Charlie objected immediately. Willy reflected on the matter for a few minutes before responding, sharing a loving glance with the boy while he did so. This precious boy was so full of insecurities he thought as he tried to work out an acceptable answer.

Those who commented about the eyes being the windows to the soul had it right he thought looking at Charlie's, as the fear, doubt and general apprehension stared at him through them regularly, prompting the most gentle and caring responses from his own eyes. Willy knew that he was as easily read by those who knew him well – the Oompa Loompa's told him regularly, as had so many of his friends back in the days before he'd fired all his workers. So many people he had lost all form of contact with since then. Willy sighed and pulled his mind back to the present, and to Charlie who still hadn't responded to him.

"Charlie... You've had such an emotional time of it over the last few months. I know how much you were longing to find a ticket, and I'm so overjoyed that you did locate one. I'm also aware that you have had just as heavy a burden to carry as your Mom has. Like her, you have been worrying about your family, and doing your best to support them for years. You've had a heavy burden of work, and you've had the extra of the ticket hunt in general and the extra clamour in school.

"The paper said you hadn't said much about trying to find a ticket, and experience has shown me that the less someone says about their hopes and dreams, the more they're bottled up inside, the more they mean. Then you find the ticket after all hope is gone, your Grandfather gets out of bed for the first time since before you were born so that he can accompany you, you go on this fantastical tour with a guide who seems to switch personalities by the moment, and yet, despite this, you trust him because he's somehow been a very important person to you from long before you ever met him. Then, at the end of the tour, this important person you only met that day yells at you a few minutes before telling you that actually, you've won a competition you didn't even know you had entered, and within the next hour your whole family is whisked away to live in the factory.

"All that without even starting to consider everything which has happened since. Charlie, your Mom is struggling just with the stuff which has happened since I whisked you all to live in the factory – she's only had the emotional rollercoaster that has taken place from that point and you can see how much she's struggling. You've had it for months. There is only so much anyone can take before something's got to give, and so we cry. So no, you're never a cry baby. You're a delightful little boy who has gone through numerous emotional and scary experiences and you're reacting the only way you know how."

Then he fell silent for a few moments, not really sure how to express what he wanted to say. Until he decided that he'd just go and say it however the words came out of his mouth. "I must admit Charlie, I'm honoured that you're prepared to be so vulnerable in front of me. It's not everyone who would let someone they hadn't met two days before see them cry. Most people want to just run and hide."

Charlie paused and pondered all Wonka had told him, objecting in his mind to being called a 'little boy.' The phrase made him sound about five he thought. Ignoring that for the moment he focussed on something else. "You are important to me Wonka." He admitted quietly. "You always have been. For many of the people in this town as well. You don't think that everyone turned up at the factory gates just because five strangers were lucky enough to find tickets to get the chance to tour the factory? That wasn't why they were there. They were there because they might get the chance to see you. Not to stare at you, but because you're ours. Everyone else might have wanted to see round the factory because it's so well known, and because the chocolate is perfect, but you are of us, you belong to our town, we identify with you. You're probably the best loved, reclusive candy maker in the world." Charlie told him with keen sincerity.

Willy looked at him in astonishment. "Even after what I've done?" he asked in surprise. Charlie just looked at him, not too sure what Wonka was referring to. After a few minutes he decided it was as well to just ask the man what he was on about. "How do you mean 'after what you've done?'" he asked cautiously. "What did you do?"

Willy was once again shocked at Charlie's lack of comprehension. "What do you mean, "What did I do?"" he exclaimed passionately. "I fired my entire workforce, no exceptions. That's what I did Charlie. Do you realise what that does to a place?" Wonka demanded.

Feeling rather nervous of the sudden passion in Wonka's voice, Charlie shrunk away a little, before gathering his confidence and responding. "I don't know much about that I admit Wonka." He began quietly. "What I do know though, is that it was a long time ago. People my grandparents age, they might have worked for you. People my Mom's age likely did as well. Anyone much younger than her would likely be too young to remember what it was like when you employed the people in your factory, and for those who are old enough to remember, it was so long ago as to be practically forgotten. They've all long since got new jobs, they're all living in today, not worrying about something which happened twenty-odd years ago." Then, being brave, he continued on "Being honest Wonka, I think the one most affected by it is you."

Having shot this bolt, Charlie sat quietly, waiting for the Chocolatiers next thoughts. In his turn Willy sighed. "I was going to tell you that I'd made my peace with it Charlie, but maybe you're right. Maybe I haven't really done so." Charlie looked up at his mentor, the trust in his eyes glistening up at him. "I'll tell you something else Wonka. I'm not going to downplay the impact of the spies, or the fact that you needed to do something drastic before your competitors stole every recipe you had, but I'm sure that there has to be some other reason for your taking the action you did. I think if there wasn't something else pretty big in the picture you would have found some other way. And while I don't think it was particularly well known, enough people did know about it that a generally understanding view of the affair has been handed down. Most people here are concerned about you I think. They want to know that you're OK. People here have come past it and survived, they want to know that you can say the same."

Wonka surveyed his apprentice in silence, experiencing the tongue-tied feeling in his turn. How on earth had he managed to guess so much? And how did he manage to walk in on ground no one else dared to with him? Rushing in, possibly even 'where angels feared to tread,' and yet, somehow bringing healing in his wake. Wonka had to admit that this rather more personal chat than he might have liked did seem to be easing pains he didn't even realise he still carried with him.

Taking a deep breath he finally responded. "There was something more Charlie, something pretty big happened just before I found out about the spies. I'm not sure I'm ready to go into that now though. Is that alright?" Wonka asked him hesitantly. Charlie accepted his answer immediately, and started casting around for a change of subject. "Not a problem Wonka." He admitted with a smile, giving the man another swift hug, before continuing to sit next to the man in contented silence.


	20. Boys' Afternoon

Thanks once again to all of my readers. Here's the next little update for you.

If you recognise it from somewhere else, chances are, it doesn't belong to me!

* * *

Boys' Afternoon

A few minutes later, the two of them were still sitting together silently, with Charlie basking in the ability to have the undivided attention of his friend. This didn't stop his thoughts rushing though, and it didn't take too much longer for him to recall the events which had lead to their sitting on the floor. "You wanted to ask me something!" he stated suddenly, almost accusingly Wonka thought as the words cut across the otherwise fairly quiet room.

As his statement sunk in though the man laughed. "I think we keep getting sidetracked Charlie. What was I asking you about this time?" The question reminded Charlie about their experience on the way to the inventing room and he joined in the laughter before responding. "Well, I think it was something about your quoting. Was it something to do with my response?" he asked in return.

This was enough for Wonka to catch up. "Yes! You're right! It was!" he responded quickly. "What did you mean by 'not having to do that around you' or however you phrased it?" Charlie blushed again. "Oh! Now I remember why I got upset and thought I was being presumptuous!" he commented quietly. Seeing the possibility of a return of Charlie's upset Willy hastened to reassure him. "No, you're not being presumptuous my dear boy, you're simply being a caring friend. And I'm very intrigued as to what you were thinking."

These words were apparently enough as Charlie took a deep breath and turned to stare at the three course meal gum machine (and the Oompa Loompa's who were scurrying about the room, dealing with their various assigned tasks, and studiously ignoring what was going on at the side of the room) before starting to talk. "It's just, when we were on the tour yesterday, I gradually got the impression that whenever you used one of your more unusual quotes it was actually a form of protection. Any time you were speaking with Mr Salt would be a good example I guess. Nasty man!" he commented in an aside, before colouring and apologising. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk like that about an adult."

Quite relieved at the small detour which would allow him to gather his thoughts more, Willy decided to pursue this line of thought. "What lead you to that conclusion Charlie?" he asked.

Sighing, Charlie began to recount his thoughts of Henry Salt as best he could. "Well, it's just that at the very start of the tour, when you called everyone forwards, he started by pulling Augustus out of his road, and shouting at him to 'get back;' he even called Augustus 'You' which wasn't very nice." He started, before going on to talk about his attitude during the tour and everything else which went on the previous day. "In some ways, I think he was the worst adult on the tour. I know that Mrs Teevee, Mr Beauregarde and Mrs Gloop were none of them perfect or even terribly nice adults to take round the factory, but they weren't so openly disparaging and uncaring as Mr Salt was." Charlie explained.

Willy listened, intrigued at the well thought out views on the adults. They were very insightful, as far as they went. "It sounds like you've thought a lot about this Charlie, though I'll admit that Mrs Gloop encouraged her son in gluttony and would condone any bad behaviour in the pursuit of food – though she did think her son should 'save some room for later.' To treat my beloved factory like a feeding frenzy, disgraceful! It's Mr Beauregarde and Mrs Teevee who concern me the most. He was looking for a way out of signing the contract, and at the end proved to be manipulative and pushy – and Mrs Teevee was encouraging her son to find anything else that he could out about the factory in the hope that he would have more information to pass on to Slugworth so that they could extort as much money as possible for what they could tell. They both pretended to be friendly until it came to the point, a slimy sleazy way of behaving. At least Mr Salt was honest about what he thought and what he was after." Wonka pointed out gently.

Charlie thought about these ideas for a while before responding. "Yeah, I see what you mean." He replied. "I tended to keep my eye on Mr Salt and what he was up to because I wanted to keep out of his road as much as possible. And wasn't it Mr Beauregarde who looked under the clothes covering the everlasting gobstopper machine." He looked in the direction of the machine as he said this, suddenly exclaiming, "Hey! It's different!" Indeed, as Charlie had just noticed, the cloths covering the machine had now vanished. Willy smiled at the boys surprise. "well, now that there's no sneaky tour people out to find out all they can about the factory the covers could come off. It wasn't done yesterday as it's a lengthy procedure, so we put it off until this morning. Now you can see the machine in all its glory." Then he paused and glanced back down at the boy "and yes, I think you're right that it was Mr Beauregarde who peaked... He certainly got warned that it wasn't such a good idea to do so!" Wonka commented with a smile.

Then, a few minutes later he sighed and started speaking again. "and as to your comments earlier about some of my more outlandish quotes being a defence mechanism, I suppose you're right there. I do tend to find that if people are struggling to work out how I've jumped from one thing to another they're less able to continue being particularly obnoxious or offensive. What were we talking about when I used whatever quote confused you?" he suddenly requested.

Charlie stopped and thought for a while, struggling to remember. Then suddenly he remembered. "We were talking about my classes, and the fact I've not learned any languages but English. Then you came out with something about people who spoke languages lying."

Wonka laughed at this picture. "Yes, I can see how that would sound rather disjointed and unconnected, although I do believe that Orson Scott Card got it right, everyone does lie! How does this Victor Hugo quote sound "The man who does not know other languages, unless he is a man of genius, necessarily has deficiencies in his ideas." Better?"

Charlie smiled at that. "Yes, lots better Wonka. But the first bit doesn't really apply to you - you must be what he meant by a 'man of genius' so you don't need to know other languages!"

Wonka stopped, stunned at this. "I don't quite know about that Charlie." He responded, but the boy was insistent, pointing out that Wonka had created the factory and every machine within it, he was constantly coming up with ideas in relation to his chocolate and his produce tasted wonderful. To keep coming up with such diverse but amazing ideas was genius to his mind.

Then Willy brushed the question of genius off, by explaining that he required the ability to speak many languages to enable him to communicate well with his various business contacts across the globe. "and as time goes on you shall require this ability as well Charlie, so we'll get you to the point where you're able to speak several without much difficulty" Wonka explained gently.

Excited at the idea of new learning, possibly even something taught to him by Wonka himself, Charlie happily agreed with this idea. Finally Wonka suggested that it was about time they stood up, and slightly embarrassed at the amount of time they had spent sitting on the floor again, Charlie agreed and jumped to his feet. Wonka stood up more slowly, feeling stiff, due to having sat in the one position for so long. He stretched briefly, before glancing at his watch.

"OK, it's now about 3:40 Charlie, that means that taking off the fifteen or so minutes it'll take us to get back to the residential quarters, we've just over an hour left. What would you like to do during the time?"

Charlie looked at him, not really sure what to say. There were so many possibilities, but most of them were a bit distant, given the time constraints. Then he smiled up at Wonka. Best to just stick to what they had already planned on doing.

"Could we go somewhere more comfortable, where we could discuss how this apprenticeship will work please Wonka. You suggested talking about it, but we've not really had time, and I doubt we'll be able to do so much before next weekend now. I'll have to concentrate on school stuff most of the time." He pointed out quietly.

Wonka agreed that this was a good idea, and suggested that they head to the kitchen unit they had eaten lunch in. It seemed unlikely that the others would still be there, would give them an informal surroundings with a desk, and best of all, they could get some chocolate from the river sent up to them by the Oompa Loompa's.

Wonka was firmly of the opinion that serious discussions should always have some nice warming drinking chocolate as a side. Especially when such discussions involved a twelve year old. He had missed the valuable ingredient of his discussion river chocolate when he had sat down to converse with Ellie earlier on in the day. However, she and her parents were so upset at the time he had thought that it wouldn't be wise to have river chocolate sent up! They might misunderstand and think he was attempting to poison them, and that was the last thing Wonka had needed at the time.

They quickly made their way to the communal kitchen and to their relief they discovered that it was indeed empty. Willy beckoned Charlie over to the open fireplace and instructed that he 'watch.' The next thing Charlie knew Willy had pulled the pipe he remembered from the chocolate room out and played the same lilting tune into the fireplace. A second later an Oompa Loompa rose out of the fireplace looking slightly perturbed at her sudden flight.

"Yes Willy?" she asked – not needing to whisper as her colleagues had done during the factory tour as it didn't matter whether Charlie understood what she was saying or not. One order for some river chocolate later and the two were sitting at the table, Willy with a pad in front of him which looked very like it had been split into two columns.

"Right Charlie, what we're going to do is sit and both contribute an idea about what we would like the important parts of our relationship to be – both in the apprenticeship and as part of our friendship in general. That way we should hopefully be able to strike a balance of stuff which is good for both of us. Are you happy with that idea?"

It didn't take long for Charlie to signal his approval of the idea, and Wonka quickly wrote their names at the top of each column, though he noticed as he was doing so that Charlie was utterly distracted as a moment after he finished speaking a tray suddenly rose out of the fireplace and hovered across the room to rest gently on a raised circular stone on the table.

Willy smiled and matter of factly gave his apprentice a mug of river chocolate, before helping himself to the other. He smiled at the look of shock Charlie currently sported. "It won't bite you, honestly Charlie." Willy told him, the amusement hidden at the back of his tone, "the soup we had for dinner last night came the same way, and your Mom coped alright with that!" This shock seemed to break through the general astonishment that had held Charlie captive, and brought his head round to look at Wonka once again. Seeing he now had the boys attention Willy decided it was possibly time to direct him to the general antidote to this kind of shock – something hot and sweet. "How about you have a sip of your chocolate my dear boy?" he asked.

Charlie almost automatically did as suggested, and the drink did its work – if only because it was something physical and real, and pulled his head away from feelings of unreality and science fiction. Glancing back at his mentor, already seeming more relaxed, Charlie took another mouthful of his chocolate, just to have Willy mirror his action. The two smiled at each other as they both revelled in the thick and velvety chocolaty taste.


	21. Down to Business

Once again, thank you to all my readers, especially to Turrislucidus for taking the time to comment on some of what went before. It's good to see what you think. :)

This is a short section which concludes the afternoon visit.

If you recognise it from elsewhere, chances are it doesn't belong to me!

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Down to Business

Having calmed Charlie down enough from his shock, Willy took one more sip of his mug before putting it to the side and picking up his pen and pad again. Focusing completely on his task now, he pondered a few minutes before putting a number one at the top of his column and adding 'teach Charlie languages' beneath it, before reading this out to his apprentice. "As I said in the inventing room, the more languages you know well the better you'll be prepared to conduct phone conversations with the various companies and people we do business with. We may start you with Latin again as despite it being no longer in use throughout the world it forms the basis for many of the other common languages and it may be easier for you to understand them once you've got a grounding in that."

Charlie, gazing about himself in wonder even as he sipped on his chocolate, agreed with this suggestion, suppressing a groan as he remembered how he had struggled with the language in the past. Hopefully it wouldn't be so complicated if Wonka taught him the basics first though. A few minutes later Willy wrote a number one at the top of Charlie's column, hoping this would prompt the boy to make a suggestion of his own. As this didn't have much of an effect, he finally decided to break the silence and ask the boy for an idea.

Charlie, not being too sure what he would like to see happening during the apprenticeship at this point in time, hesitantly suggested that it might be good if Wonka would agree to meet up with the important people in his life, maybe visit some of his classes in school, and Mr Joepeck as his current employer for starters. Charlie thought that Wonka might gain a better idea of exactly how much the town people, particularly those of his age, revered him if he were to spend a little more time socialising with them. Despite some initial nerves on the matter of meeting so many different people, and being known to be out of the factory, Wonka agreed that this might be a good idea –though for very different reasons to the ones Charlie had.

After this, Wonka wrote a two next to his name and wrote down that Charlie should be helped to understand the various processes the factory went through in the production of various different candies so that he would be able to join in conversations Wonka had with the Oompa Loompa's about how best to improve different recipes. Wonka thought the best way for him to learn might be by having Charlie apprentice to the different departments, spending at least one morning a week learning on the job. In time this would help him learn the jargon and understand exactly what was going on in the production of the various candies. Wonka would also try to spend part of an afternoon or evening with him each week discussing what he had experienced in the department. This would enable him to judge when Charlie was ready to move onto a different part of the factory. If it came to it, Wonka was perfectly happy for that to become part of Charlie's homework club time. It was at least as important as anything he did for school, and would have an important part to play in his life as he grew older.

Once again Charlie agreed, though he did wonder what his Mom would have to say about the injunction that Chocolate Factory learning stuff took precedence over homework at times!

Once Wonka had noted his ideas about that down he wrote a 2 on Charlie's list and looked to him to come up with another idea of what he would like. After humming and hawing for a while Charlie suggested they instigate a question time, where each of them would be able to ask questions about things which intrigued them about the other and the other would give as detailed an answer as possible – with the only exception being if the answer was maybe too personal for sharing at that point in time and was maybe better being left until it came out naturally.

Wonka grinned at him. "oh, does that mean you're wondering about what secrets I might have?" he asked with a teasing smile. Charlie smiled back at him, "Lots! But actually, I'm currently thinking of things like what your thoughts were as the results of who found each of the tickets came in? What lead to the ticket hunt in the first place? What would you have done next if none of us had passed the test? Things like that." Willy glanced affectionately at Charlie. "I can see we're going to be at this for months if all your questions are like those ones Charlie!" he responded. "Those are good questions." Then he noticed a troubled look on his apprentices face. "What is it?" he asked. "It's just another question I've thought of." Charlie told him It did take a little more gentle prodding, but eventually Willy managed to get him to explain the question. "It's just... Could any of the others cause trouble for the factory for any reason? I remember Mr Salt talking about what environmental health would say about the state of the inventing room for example?" Willy laughed at that one for a moment. "Yes, he did rather throw that around as a fear tactic didn't he?" Willy commented. "Truth be told, as nothing in the room goes on sale, and only myself and those who are specifically allowed to test the experiments ever eat the produce in that room Environmental health really couldn't say much at all. Unlike the river when it was contaminated by Augustus. As you know, we had to drain and sterilise it. Very different things. However, this is another precaution of mine that I'm quite proud of. None of those involved in the tour could cause us any problems due to the tales they told about it – it doesn't mather whether the subject was the Oompa Loompa's, the conditions they saw in the inventing room, or the fates of the various children. You see Charlie, the contract I had you all signed created a rule that meant the children and their parents aren't allowed to speak negatively about their trip to anyone outside of a specific group that would later be designated.

"This was then taken to another level when we went into the first room lock. The agent in the cleanser which took the worst of the bacteria off of our clothing , hair, and footwear created the group parameters – anyone inside of the room was included in it, and those in the room wouldn't be able to say anything negative about the tour to anyone not in that room. As it fell onto them, it created a link for the benefit of the contract. Then, when each person tasted something in the chocolate room (and everyone had tried something) it became impossible for them to go against that directive."

Having explained matters Willy went back over to the fireplace and used his whistle to call up one of the Oompa Loompa's. With her (Hetty) in the room, he then challenged Charlie to try and say something bad about the factory trip, just to test the directive. After a few moments of thinking, Charlie said "Mr Wonka's workers are absolutely wonderful. So kind and considerate. Why they even acted as tour guides if our party got separated." With a smile, Willy soon guessed that to be a comment about how strange Mr Wonka's workers looked, and that they must have been illegally brought into the country.

Having verified that, Willy next invited him to try writing something negative about the tour down, and after a little more time sitting thinking he scribbled something down, frowning at the page. Eventually he handed the result to Wonka, who read out "there were a few spots of bother, and some of the children in the tour did have slight accidents, but nothing which couldn't be quickly sorted, and maybe they would learn that when they were told not to do something that it was generally a good idea to follow the instructions they were given." This, with careful questioning, he soon discovered to have been an attempt at talking about the various adventures the children had experienced, and how little Willy had done to avoid the situations.

Having given it a bit of thought, Charlie decided to query the ethics of this trick, speaking most especially on his own part, as he would never choose to speak negatively about the tour to outsiders. Wonka smiled at him, and admitted that this was correct, but then went on to point out that he didn't know Charlie when these precautions were taken – Charlie hadn't even found his ticket by that stage, only the others had, and Willy had been getting more and more concerned about what the children who had found the tickets would do to his factory. Then, as Charlie was conceding the point, and admitting that given the way the others had acted it had been a sensible precaution, Willy continued with the thought that d if he'd done something similar when he employed the town people, then no one would have been able to steal his recipes.

He explained that he had made the plans during a paranoid stage soon after he closed the factory, just in case it was needed in a classic case of bolting the stable door once the horse has vanished, and as the various ticket finders were revealed he had decided that it was important to implement the scheme as he realised he didn't trust any of them.

Having detoured for a while Willy wasn't too sure what else to put on his list, so he paused in the writing of it, suggesting that the two of them write ideas down over the course of the week and they could discuss any fresh ideas the next time they met. As Charlie was agreeing with him, he suddenly slapped his thigh. "And we really need to get you some better clothing. More durable, warmer, better suited to the winter months, and some which will work for your time in the various confectionary departments."

Charlie had smiled at him on hearing this. "New clothing would be lovely Wonka, though I do want to keep some of this, Mom and my Grandma's knitted some of the jumpers and my scarf for me." Then he paused for a moment. "You said yesterday it would be alright for me to dress like you somewhat." He paused and took a deep breath, as this still felt a pretty big 'ask' to him. "Can I get a coat like yours?" Wonka looked up and smiled at him gently, giving his shoulder a squeeze across the table while he was at it, understanding something of how difficult that must have been for Charlie to ask. "A frock coat? No reason why not. Maybe in a bright blue this time rather than purple. What about a top hat as well? I don't think you'd quite manage to carry off the cane quite yet, but the frock coat and top hat would be good for any publicity days we end up having to deal with."

Charlie had sat stunned a little at the fast flowing ideas as they poured over him. "A top hat?" he questioned, thinking about it when Wonka stopped talking. "Yeah, I guess that would also make me feel a little closer to you." He commented, his mind elsewhere. That comment caused Wonka to frown in concern. He hadn't really expected that Charlie had asked for the clothing to 'feel closer' to him He made another note to have the Oompa Loompa's create some comfort and protection safety toys for Charlie, writing it down on the paper this time so he wouldn't forget.

Then Charlie came out of his thoughts. "Publicity Day's Wonka?" he asked. Willy smiled at the boy, picking up on the important sliver of information once again. "Oh! Well, now that we've become more part of the public world, what with the ticket competition, and your becoming my apprentice, and this meet and greet stuff you've got me to sign up for, I figure we could look into having publicity events and days – get both of us out there into the community a little more. It would only be a little at a time, but if we both dress alike, that would stand out to those attending – they would all know at once that 'there goes Wonka's' – which might be quite good!" he explained with a smile. "Then if we ever need to go out and not be recognised, we just leave the frock coats and top hats at home..."

Charlie had to admit that it was a good plan. A few minutes later the clock chimed five, and so, rather reluctantly, the two headed towards the personal apartments, where Willy dropped Charlie off. In some ways though, each had to admit that it was a bit of a relief. So much had happened in their time together, and so much ground had been covered that both of their heads were spinning rather.


	22. Back at the Mint Mountain Range

Thanks once again to all reviewers and those who have chosen to follow this story since I was last online and posting. This is a rather melancholy update, so was rather difficult to write - hopefully it hasn't suffered for all that. I'm also hoping that the next few updates flow along easily so that it won't be quite such a wait for another update!

Once again, if you recognise it, it likely doesn't belong to me, and I'm not making any money from any of it...

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Back at the Mint Mountain Range

Willy didn't get to disappear off to his own abode as he had expected though. When they arrived at the suite Joe had come to the door to welcome them back, and asked Willy if the adults could have a word with him. Charlie was quickly settled, as his Grandfather reminded him that he hadn't yet touched any of his homework that weekend, and he was sure to get a detention if he hadn't done it by the morning – he would also find his supper through there. So, with a sigh, Charlie headed to his room to pull out his rucksack and homework materials.

Once he had disappeared Wonka turned to Joe with a smile. "What can I do for you Grandpa Joe sir?" he asked with a smile, mirroring his greeting to the man at the factory gates. "Would you come through to the lounge Mr Wonka. You see, after you and Charlie left we had quite the discussion with Ellie, and it's only fair that you know of some of what we discussed." The older gentleman explained as they moved through the hallway.

It was while they were moving that it happened. Something about one of Joe's expressions caught Willy's attention and he reached out and grabbed hold of the older man's arm. "You just reminded me of someone... Someone I've forgotten." He admitted when Joe turned to him in confusion. This admission brought a gentle smile to Joe's face. "It was bound to happen eventually Willy." He replied. "And we're going to explain a little of that now. James recognised me at once, and he explained that he thought you'd blocked out a lot of stuff that happened at that time." With that cryptic comment he ushered Wonka through into the lounge where everyone else was sitting.

Through in the living room a rather strained looking Ellie sat, with her parents (still seated in their wheelchairs) either side of her. Josephine was apparently through in the kitchen, as she came whizzing through, following a refreshments tray, a couple of minutes later. "Here you are dear." She commented, giving a drink to Ellie. "Ah, there you are Joe, Mr Wonka."a light meal tray hovered down onto the table, and Josephine insisted that everyone have something.

Joe showed Willy to a seat once he had some food, and the man sank into it, looking almost as pale as Ellie was at that moment. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think I knew every last one of you 'before'" he murmured, something in his tone telling them that the word was being used as a placer for An Important Event.

Joe sighed, toying with the roll he held in his hand. "You'd be right in thinking that Mr Wonka. We all have a shared history – one which my wife, and I, and Ellie and her parents all agreed the night before the tour that we wouldn't refer to unless you brought it up.

"Of us all, Ellie is probably the one who knew you best – she worked for you, in that shop on Cherry road. She's the only one of us here who did, though not the only one who wanted to."

Willy looked sharply at Ellie, and then hazily round at Joe... "Then how come it's you I seem to remember Grandpa Joe sir?" he asked, bewildered now.

Joe smiled gently at the younger man, and patted his arm. Though it could ruin things before they even really got started, it was time. "You don't need to call me that Wilanta. You used to call me Jo-Jackaby as you said everyone needed an amusing name, and I was the spitting image of my twin brother Jack – who did work for you."

"Jackaholic." Willy murmured to himself "because he was pretty well a workaholic in those days." Joe smiled over at him sadly. "Yep, and you felt your fascination with producing chocolate put you on a par with Santa – you wanted to be able to be like Santa to those kids. And believe me Wilanta, you achieved that one, especially in this town!"

Though the conversation was hardly started, Joe let it drop into silence for the moment. The time when he and Willy had known each other was a long time ago, and there had been some terribly trying moments just following the last time they had met up.

Then Willy looked up, a tear track visible on his cheek. "And you must be Ellie-belly-bee. My dear Ellie-Belly, you must have had such a burden to carry that you're no longer my little fairy flitting from flower to flower to collect all the pollen and make sugary sweet things nice!" Ellie looked slightly helplessly at her parents – this was indeed the rather infuriating man she remembered from long ago, but a rather crushed version of him. It shook her rather to see him like this after the picture of a strong man he had shown them up until now.

"That's what you called me Wilanta, or should I say Wonkanta which was the version I preferred." She finished off, wondering if there was some spark of the cheerful man he had been buried under all the emotions. As it happened, the expression seemed to pull out another act as he suddenly seemed to put on a mask with a beaming smile and a phrase. "My dear Ellie-Belly, there's nothing Wonky about my Santa!" leaving Georgina to wonder to herself "whoever suggested there was?"

Though she had been looking for him to roll out his usual response, there was something in the way he did it that concerned Ellie even more. Sighing she hesitantly broached a subject she'd wanted to hit upon since he had entered their little house. "Wonkanta, I never got to pass on my condolences with regards to Samey-Janey. We'd just buried Jackaholic when she died, and Jo-Jackaby wasn't coping with the loss of his twin, so we were all rallying around him, and then Jim was struggling with the same illness though he did survive that one – it left him weak. And then you uncovered the spies and closed the factory – and it was like you had died as well."

Willy stood up and walked over to the now gently weeping Ellie. "I'm sorry I did that Ellie-Belly-Bee. Samey-Janey would have been horrified to realise that I abandoned her best friend like that. Jimmy-Joe-Jackaby was due a job interview with me the week after it all happened wasn't he? I think we'd all talked vaguely about him maybe joining Jamester and helping him with the running of the factory when Samey-Janey and I went on honeymoon. But she kept me on track, and Jackaholic was gone, and she was gone, and people seemed to be taking advantage of the fact that I wasn't my usual efficient self and were thieving. And you three were dealing with your own grief so I felt I couldn't come to you. It was all a right mess. Better to close the factory while there was still a chance I could save something than have it all go down the toilet – and it so easily could have done."

Silence enveloped the room as they all remembered that time so long ago. It had been a defining moment for each of them. They had been so happy in that world, everything was going so right, and then disaster struck and they were split asunder, with the Bucket bunch heading off in one direction, trying to survive with the financial strain on top of the loss of Joe's twin, and Willy's loss of his bride-to-be causing him to plunge into a world where he was all alone, causing a temporary loss of sanity when he suddenly realised that his competitors were obviously stealing his products. He had shut up shop and retreated for a while, and by the time he emerged from the abyss he had found himself plunged into he had long since forgotten the Bucket family.

All he remembered from that time was his sole steadfast friend James. The nicknames and fun had withered away and died, and the two men shored each other up as much as they could, though James had always missed his friends from the past, he had never felt he could strike out and find them as Willy needed him so much. Time had moved on and the factory had moved from strength to strength. Beyond his actions to help the Oompa Loompa's – which had only helped the factory – Willy had become insular and had focussed his intellect on his work. It hurt less.

The Buckets on the other hand only had their memories left, and each had dealt with them in their own way. Joe had clung to the stories and all the warm and happy thoughts, it was both helpful and hurtful to him to remember the way his brother had enjoyed his work at Wonka's, and he grieved for the loss of his friendship with Willy. Ellie had become disillusioned and had found a place she could work hard. She did her best not to think of days gone by as that just lead to more upset. All she could do was focus on the desperate need to feed her family.

Jim had eventually found work elsewhere, although it hadn't paid as much, and had put his heart into it, until a freak accident some years later had taken away what the illness had left of his ability to work. He had clung to life for a few months, but then his heart had given up. The fact that he and Ellie now had a small son to bring up had brought some measure of happiness to the family, but the loss of the young boys father had brought the hard times even closer. Willy felt sure there was something else there, unmentioned, but couldn't be sure. Nor did he feel close enough to this group any more to pry. Did he even want to know? Willy found he couldn't answer that question either.

These details were slowly shared between the group over the course of the next few hours, painting a grim picture of the interceding years for everyone. The Bucket family stripped of all but the grim determination which had brought them through the time since they had last met. Willy, his facade of gregarious and excitable candy maker finally smashed for the group of concerned adults surrounding him, eventually came to the point where had but one broken exclamation he kept returning to. "I'm oh so glad it was you I ended up inviting to join me here. At one point I'd have hated it, but now I'm just so thankful it's you." And then, in a moment of clarity. "I've just realised... I'm now exactly the same age Jack was when he first started to work for me! That's a sobering thought!"

Uncle Joe looked up at that. "I've always wanted to tell you just how much Jack loved working for you." He began, his voice wobbling ominously before it settled and became stronger. "Jack enjoyed all his jobs, as he loved candy, but neither of his previous positions – not his time in the first candy factory where he learned about making it, nor his time in the sweet shop which followed on after that, held a candle to his time working for you. He used to say he only had one regret while he was with you, and that was that I wasn't able to work alongside him."

Willy looked up on hearing that. "I never knew. I'd have had you in an instant if I'd known Joe – you know that!" Joe looked up, and the smile on his face brought comfort to the hurting man. "There was never any option for me Willy, and I had made my peace with that." He comforted him once again, before continuing on to explain matters more thoroughly. "Both Jack and myself had always longed to work in candy making, but my father was in the army and he wanted us both to join him in that profession. "There is no nobler career boys" he used to tell us.

"After much wangling, we eventually reached the compromise that one of us would follow our dream – for the both of us – and the other would do as our father wanted and go into the army. There was never any decision to be made, Much as I longed to get involved in candy making, it was really Jack who desired it above all else, so I went into the army and chose to love it as best I could. My greatest delight was in hearing the stories of my twin, and being able to join him at the employer he loved in later years, in your shop or occasionally at events you hosted, whenever I got some time off. But I swore to myself that I'd let my children choose for themselves.

"And so I did. And Jim chose to come into chocolate making, but life took that opportunity away from him. But his love of it had introduced him to Ellie, so he was happy with that. And John, his twin brother, decided that he wanted to follow in his father and grandfathers footsteps, and the war carried him away from us... And Jim had Charlie and Callum..."

Joe trailed off into silence at the mention of that last name, as another funereal atmosphere enveloped the group of adults. That was until a quiet voice came from the darkness in the hall. "And my brother Callum died when we were born, so I try to love my family enough for both of us." It said, as Charlie came into the room, open book in his hands. "Mom, I think I've finished, can you take a look over this?" he asked holding it out, desperately avoiding looking at anyone else. Ellie accepted her sons work without a word, happy to be distracted from such a macabre subject. "And do you try to cause enough trouble for you both as well Charlie?" Asked Willy, with a glint in his eye.

Charlie looked round at him seriously now, trying to control his expression to be less easily read. He rarely mentioned his twin brother, and didn't really want to go into that right now. "I think I do that without trying Mr Wonka Sir." He responded honestly, before turning round and leaving the room, something in his tones adding to the hurt of those who had heard him. Willy rose to offer comfort, but Joe spoke, and something in the older mans tones held him still. "Let the boy go Willy. He doesn't like this subject terribly much, but he has to deal with it in his own way. I think we all need some space and time to be alone with our thoughts now, and you young man need your rest." He stood up and gently steered his visiting host to the door. "Perk up my chap – tomorrow is another day." He reminded him, before quietly but firmly closing the door behind him.


End file.
